Washington - Buoyed by the additional of 285,000 new net subscribers, XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio services planning to merge with rival Sirius, on Thursday reported a smaller first-quarter loss.

The company said that its net loss was $122 million, down from $149 the year before, on revenue that rose 27% to $264 million. XM ended the quarter with 7.9 million subscribers.

The news drove shares of XM up 8% by midday Thursday.

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