Washington — Total third-quarter revenue at XM Satellite Radio more than doubled, hitting $153.1 million, up from a year-ago $65.4 million, a 134 percent jump.
XM increased its third-quarter operating loss, to $109.5 million, up from a year-on-year loss of $100.6 million. Net loss rose to $131.9 million for the three months, ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $118 million in the same three months last year.
On the other hand, XM ended the third quarter with 5 million subscribers, doubling the 2.5 million onboard following last year’s third quarter. Growth was driven by third-quarter net subscriber additions of 617,152, a 48 percent increase over the 415,671 net subscribers added in the third quarter of 2004. The company expects to top 6 million subscribers at the end of 2005.
Third quarter subscriber growth was fueled by strong automotive and retail distribution performance with a range of full-featured products, said XM.
Subscriber acquisition costs in the third quarter were $53, down from $57 year-on-year. Cost per gross addition in the three months, both this year and last, was $89.
Subscription revenue per subscriber in the third quarter reached $9.78, compared with $8.64 in the same three months in 2004. Total revenue per subscriber, including ad sales and activation revenue, reached $10.69, compared with $9.45 in the same period the prior year. Subscription revenue per aftermarket, OEM and other subscriber was $10.36, up from a year-ago $9.24.
For the nine months, XM total revenue more than doubled, reaching $381.1 million, from $161.3 million in the same period last year.
The company reported a six-month operating loss of $341.9 million, compared with $331.3 million year-over-year, while the net loss dropped to $398.4 million for the nine months, down from a net loss of $454.2 million in the first nine months of 2004.
