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Technology Stocks : XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pcstel who wrote (3283)	2/26/2007 10:15:53 AM
From: HEXonX	Respond to of 3386

XM Satellite Radio 4Q Loss Narrows As Rev Rises 45%) DOW JONES NEWSWIRES XM Satellite Radio Holding Inc. (XMSR), which last week agreed to a merger with rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) Monday posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss helped by continued subscriber growth. The Washington, D.C., company, which features shows hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Bob Dylan and talk radio hosts Opie and Anthony, reported a net loss of $256.7 million, or 90 cents a share, from $268.3 million, or $1.22 a share, a year earlier. Results from the latest quarter included an impairment charge of $57.6 million and restructuring charges of $21.4 million. The year-ago quarter included restructuring charges of $25.3 million. Revenue rose 45% to $257.1 million from $177.1 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected, on average a loss of 71 cents a share on revenue of $242.8 million. XM and Sirius announced a merger last Monday under which Sirius would pay 4.6 of its shares for every XM share. The companies expect the $11.4 billion deal to close by the end of the year. Regulatory issues will most likely be major obstacles for the two companies, since they are the only ones licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to offer satellite radio in the U.S. XM, the biggest satellite radio company, added 442,679 net new subscribers during the quarter, down from 898,315 a year ago. The company reported that it added 1.7 millionsubscribers in 2006, ending the year with 7.6 million subscribers. XM had expected to close the year with 7.7 million to 7.9 million subscribers. Subscriber acquisition costs, a component of cost per gross addition, fell to $70 from $89 a year ago. Average revenue per subscriber, a closely watched measurement in the industry, rose to $10.07 from $9.85 a year ago during the quarter. Cost per gross customer addition was $128, compared with $141 in the year-ago period. Churn, or the rate of monthly customer losses, was 1.79% compared with 1.57% a year ago. Shares of XM and Sirius floundered in 2006, dragged by concerns about spending and competition. News of the merger pushed up both stocks last Tuesday, the day after news hit the Wall Street. XM shares closed up 10.2% while Sirius shares closed up 5.9%. Sirius, New York, which features a show by shock jock Howard Stern, reports quarterly results Tuesday. XM shares were inactive in premarket trading Monday. Shares closed Friday's trading session at $15.10 while Sirius shares closed the market at $3.74.