XM Satellite Radio Increases Revenue, Narrows Loss

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 28, 2008 - 8:31am.

Washington - As the company continues to wait for a decision from federal regulators concerning its proposed merger with rival Sirius (NASD: SIRI), XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) on Thursday said that it boosted its revenue and narrowed its net loss during the fourth quarter.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $308 million, up 20% from the same period in 2006, and a net loss of $239 million, down $18 million.

XM also said that it added 1.4 million net new subscribers during 2007 to finish the year with more than 9 million.

"XM substantially improved its business operations in 2007 as we grew our subscriber base and revenues and narrowed our loss," said Nate Davis, the company's president and CEO.

XM, which agreed to the $5 billion deal with Sirius more than a year ago, expressed optimism about the prospect of receiving necessary approvals from the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

"We look forward to regulatory approval in the near future," said Davis. The companies had hoped to complete the deal by the end of 2007.