Sirius: ‘we’ll clear $100m in 2009’
Written by Chris Forrester
Wednesday, 20 January 2010 09:08
Sirius-XM’s latest numbers are in, and they’re good.
Pay-radio broadcaster Sirius-XM’s preliminary financials show that it ended last year with an impressive 18.77m subscribers. Not only that but it told investors that it earned more than $100m in free cash flow last year, which is a complete turn-around from its 2008 experience.
“Based on preliminary financial data, we expect to report over $100 million of free cash flow for 2009, an extraordinary improvement over the pro forma negative free cash flow of $552 million that the company experienced in 2008,†said Mel Karmazin, CEO at Sirius-XM.
“This is the first year in our history that we have generated positive free cash flow for the entire year. Our fourth quarter subscriber results mark two consecutive quarters of net subscriber additions for Sirius-XM and are the highest since the third quarter of 2008. Improvements in automotive sales, conversion rates and better than anticipated self-pay churn suggest that the outlook for the auto sector and the effects of the economy on our business are beginning to improve,†said Karmazin.
“We expect to meet our guidance and report over $400 million in pro forma adjusted operating income, an improvement of over $500 million from the pro forma adjusted operating income for 2008, and an improvement of nearly $1 billion from the pro forma adjusted operating income for 2007, the last full year prior to the merger of Sirius and XM,†added David Frear, CFO.
The broadcaster’s full results will be issued next month.
© Rapid TV News 2010