XM's subscriber count misses forecast
do any of you have XM, or are you all sirius subscribers?
NEW YORK - XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. reported a year-end subscriber tally Friday that fell short of its earlier forecasts, which had already
been lowered twice.
XM, the larger of the nation's two satellite radio broadcasters, said it ended 2006 with 7.63 million subscribers. That was up almost 1.7 million from
a year ago but was short of its most recent prediction of 7.7 million to 7.9 million. A year ago, XM was forecasting 9 million subscribers at the end
of 2006. It cut its forecast in May and again in July.
"Operationally, there's no way to put a positive spin on XMSR's subscriber results," Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said in a note to
investors.
XM also said it turned a profit on an operating basis in the fourth quarter.
Earlier this week, rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said it finished the year with more than 6 million subscribers. Sirius also said it turned
profitable on an operating basis.
Moffett said that a silver lining in XM's "weak results," however, is that they could bolster the case for the two companies to attempt a merger.
Whether such a merger could pass regulatory muster in Washington, however, remains "unknown," he said.
Bank of America analyst Jonathan Jacoby said in a report to investors that he had projected weakness in retail sales for satellite radio in the fourth
quarter, but XM's latest results suggested that weakness was "even worse than expected."
XM's shares rose 28 cents to $15.27 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market where they have traded between $9.63 and $30.46 over the past 52
weeks. Sirius's shares rose 5 cents to $3.82, also on the Nasdaq, where they have traded between $3.50 and $6.76.
If I fail math, there goes my chance at a good job and a happy life full of hard work.
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