The satellite radio company Sirius XM Radio Inc. faced further losses in the second quarter as it reported $132 million in charges. Churn, or subscriber turnover, rose a little from 1.7 % last year to 2 % this year for self-pay customers. The number of subscribers had fallen for the first time in the first quarter since the commencement of the service in 2001.
The company reported a loss of $157.4 million, or 4 cents a share, in the latest quarter. Last year this figure was $83.9 billion, or 6 cents a share. This latest loss would have been 1 cent if a $108 million charge on the elimination of debt and credit facilities and a $24 million write off had been excluded. Revenue grew to $590.8 million, a little more than twice of what it had been last year. On a pro-forma basis, it grew to $607.8 million- a 1.1% increase.
Sirius XM lost close to 1, 86,000 net subscribers to end the period with 18.4 million subscribers. Adding new subscribers cost 20% less and average revenue per subscriber rose by 1%. Chief Executive Mel Karmazin was optimistic for a rebound in auto sales and saw the revenue growth in times of broad declines in the advertising and automotive markets as an achievement.
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