New York – Sirius Satellite Radio recorded negative third quarter Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of $60.1 million, compared with negative EBITDA of $37.5 million in the year-ago period.
EBITDA is commonly used as a measure of performance for capital-intensive companies such as Sirius, as well as measure a company’s ability to service debt.
Sirius more than doubled its net loss, to $108.2 million for the third quarter, ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $46.9 million in the same three months last year. Loss from operations was $81.7 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $30.7 million in the same three months in 2001.
Sirius, which has had difficulties in obtaining financing, said if current recapitalization is not completed, additional funding of about $600 million will be needed until operations become self-sustaining, with about 3 million subscribers.
The company said it had 11,821 subscribers at the end of the third quarter, and 16,136 subscribers as of Oct. 31.
With completion of recapitalization, Sirius expects to have sufficient cash to cover its funding needs into the second quarter of 2004.
Sirius, which launched its nationwide satellite radio service last July, reported $17,000 in total revenue in the third quarter.
For the nine months, Sirius recorded negative EBITDA of $172.6 million, compared with a negative $106.6 million in the same period last year.
Net loss for the nine months climbed to $300.4 million, up from a loss of $163.1 million year over year. The company’s operating loss for the nine months ballooned to $222.3 million, up from a loss of $116.6 million in the previous period.
