| Page 2 of 2 < |
For XM, Fewer Losses And More Subscribers
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
With its fate in limbo, XM said yesterday that it could project its 2008 performance.
Chief Financial Officer Joseph J. Euteneuer said in a conference call that XM is "fully funded," and financially viable as a separate company.
Chief executive Nate Davis said XM would look at aggressive cost cutting if the merger falls through.
"If there is no merger and there's a stand-alone company we will come back to investors and we'll identify all the actions we'll take," he said. "We always look at and we will continue to look at with a . . . magnifying glass the cost structure of the company."
Executives also said XM would focus on in-car sales instead of marketing through partners like Starbucks, which had featured XM at kiosks in their stores. XM terminated that deal in the fourth quarter.
XM said revenue during the quarter rose 20 percent, to $308 million, from the fourth quarter a year earlier. The company said it lost $239 million (78 cents a share), compared with a loss of $257 million (90 cents) in the comparable quarter of 2006.
For the full year, revenue rose 22 percent, to $1.1 billion. The loss narrowed to $682 million ($2.22), from $719 million ($2.70) in 2006. XM ended 2007 with 9 million subscribers.
Battling for the merger has been costly. XM said it spent $30 million last year in merger-related expenses, reflected in its general and administrative costs. XM spent $1.2 million on lobbying the FCC and Congress for approval of the merger. Sirius reported that it spent at least $800,000 last year for lobbyists.
The uncertainty is costing the companies in other ways, too, Sirius chief Mel Karmazin said earlier this week. Secret shoppers hired by the company found retailers would give consumers misinformation about the status of the merger, he said.
