Sirius cuts losses before XM merger

Sirius XM Radio on Thursday announced that its Sirius side posted a 25 percent jump in second-quarter revenue and pared back its net loss as it closed its final quarter as a standalone company.

Revenues for Sirius Satellite Radio, which closed its long-awaited merger with XM Satellite Radio after the quarter ended, rose to $283 million for the three-month period ending June 30, up from $226.4 million a year earlier.

"Despite a tough economy and weak auto sales, gross additions set a new second-quarter record. In the second quarter, both revenue and subscribers grew 25 percent, compared with last year," CEO Mel Karmazin said in a statement, adding that the company's costs, meanwhile, remained essentially flat and aided in reducing its net loss.

Sirius posted a net loss of nearly $84 million, compared with a loss of $134.1 million a year ago.

With the merger now complete, the combined company is expected to generate $400 million in cost savings next year and annualized revenues in excess of $2.4 billion.

"The combined company now has an annualized revenue run rate of over $2.4 billion, making Sirius XM Radio one of the fastest-growing and best positioned subscription media businesses," Karmazin said. "With rapid integration efforts under way, we started realizing synergies on day 1."

[pjk0]

Yes, isn't it a shame that the indicators are that Sirius was well on its way to becoming a profitable standalone company, despite the moaning and whining about how they couldn't survive without a merger. And how lovely that this news comes _just_ after they get the final merger OK from the FCC.

Pity that they had a complete 2-hour blackout last night. Looks like we can look forward to "excellent" service in the future from the combined entity. [cough]

[benjaminstraight]

I still don't get how both weren't hugely profitable on the market.