Sirius Satellite Radio 3rd-quarter loss narrows as subscribers grow 50 percent

NEW YORK -- Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. reported a narrower third-quarter loss Tuesday and recorded a 50 percent increase in new subscribers ahead of its planned combination with larger rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.

New York-based Sirius reported a loss of $120.1 million, or 8 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30 compared with a loss of $162.9 million, or 12 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

The result was in line with expectations on Wall Street, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenues rose 45 percent to $241.8 million from $167.1 million last year, but fell short of Wall Street's expectations of $244.3 million.

Sirius added 524,938 net subscribers to finish the quarter with 7.7 million, or 50 percent more than a year ago. XM is larger with 8.6 million subscribers, but it has been growing more slowly than Sirius.

Sirius said it expects to finish the year with more than 8 million subscribers.

Sirius said it planned to hold a shareholder vote on the planned acquisition of XM on Nov. 13, the same day XM's shareholders are expected to vote.

The deal is still facing regulatory scrutiny in Washington by Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission.

Sirius' CEO Mel Karmazin said in a statement that the company still hopes to close the deal by the end of the year.

In other key metrics watched by investors, Sirius" cost for adding each subscriber fell to $103 in the third quarter compared with $114 in the same period a year earlier.

Average monthly churn Ã¢â‚¬â€ť or the portion of the subscriber base that drops out every month Ã¢â‚¬â€ť edged up to 2.1 percent from 2.0 percent a year ago.

For the first nine months of the year, Sirius posted a net loss of $399 million, or 27 cents a share, versus a loss of $859.3 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier.

Nine-month revenue rose 51 percent to $672.3 million from $443.9 million.