Despite a weak economy and mounting competition, SiriusXM Radio said it added 334,000 net new subscribers in the third quarter, and total subscribers also reached a record 21.3 million and Karmazin predicted continued subscriber growth for many years.
SiriusXM’s self-pay subscriber base reached an all-time high of 17,534,310, up 7 percent year over year in the quarter ended September 30.
Still some analysts had expected to see more new subscribers, which drove down SiriusXM shares by one percent in pre-market trading Tuesday, said Reuters. Evercore Partners had predicted 398,000 new subscribers for the quarter, said The Street.
Revenue was a record $763 million, up 6 percent from last year and net income hit $104 million, up 54 percent for the quarter.
“…we are confident our positive momentum will continue in the fourth quarter. This has been an exciting year for SiriusXM, but I’m even more excited by the many opportunities awaiting us in 2012…” said Karmazin.
“We are growing in what we all know is a very weak economy and in a market…with competition,” he added.
SiriusXM is now included in two thirds of all cars sold in the U.S., up from about 62 percent.
Subscribers from used cars with factory SiriusXM radios continues to climb, although the conversion rate on certified pre-owned vehicles (from promotional to paid subscribers) is lower than for new cars.
Nearly 2,000 GM dealers are enrolled in a new used car SiriusXM trial promotion program and Nissan and Infiniti dealers have also joined the program.
“We continue to be very confident that the previously owned market will be a significant growth opportunity for SiriusXM in the coming years,” said Karmazin.
For the full year, SiriusXM expects to add a total of 1.6 million subscribers.
Source: CEoutlook, The Street, Reuters
