Washington – XM Satellite Radio Holdings increased first quarter revenue to $13.1 million for the period compared with the same three months in 2002, when the company notched $1.8 million in revenue.
XM also reduced its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) loss in the first quarter, ended March 31to $63.3 million, compared with an EBITDA loss of $75.4 million in the first quarter a year ago.
However, the company’s operating loss in the first quarter grew to $106.8 million, up from an operating loss of $98.4 million in the first three months in 2002.
Net loss also increased in the first quarter, coming in at $126.3 million, compared with a net loss of $112.3 million year-on-year.
XM said it continues to make progress toward cash flow breakeven, while increasing the number of subscribers and reducing costs.
At the end of the first quarter, XM had cash on hand of $193.5 million, compared with $32.8 million after the first quarter in 2002.
XM reported 483,075 subscribers as of March 31, 2003, representing a net subscriber addition of 135,916 for the first quarter, a 36 percent increase from the preceding three months and six times the 76,242 subscribers on board a year earlier.
Subscriber cost per gross addition for the first quarter was $156, driven, in part, by seasonably lower marketing expenses. This compares with $875 in the first three months last year. During the first quarter, XM incurred an average subscriber acquisition cost of $74, compared with $127 year over year.
In other news XM said Wal-Mart will begin selling the Delphi XM SKYFi radio system, in 2,100 store locations.
As the number two ranking retailer of consumer electronics, according to the TWICE Top 100 CE Retailers, Wal-Mart’s decision to carry Delphi’s XM radios is expected to boost XM sales. The announcement by Delphi sent XM shares up 17 and also proved a boost to Sirius Satellite Radio shares, which jumped 30 percent..
Wal-Mart will sell the Delphi XM car, home and portable solutions. More details will be announced later this month, said XM VP retail marketing and distribution, Dan Murphy.
