Emboldened by shareholder approval of a major new funding plan th...
Emboldened by shareholder approval of a major new funding plan that it said removed “major roadblock” toward reaching cash-flow breakeven by late 2004, XM Satellite Radio Thurs. stood by its earlier projections of achieving 1.2 million subscribers by the…
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end of 2003, despite the tough CE economy. CEO Hugh Panero told financial analysts in a conference call to discuss results for 4th quarter ended Dec. 31 that XM had the most successful quarter to date in terms of subscriber and revenue growth. The company ended the year with 347,159 total subscribers, including 145,065 added in the 4th quarter alone. It said the 4th quarter accounted for 40% of the year’s total subscriber growth. XM said it expects to add 130,000 new subscribers in the first quarter, about 2-1/2 times the growth rate in the same quarter a year earlier. Net subscriber additions are expected to grow steadily in the 2nd and 3rd quarters before rising “steeply” again in the 4th quarter on holiday season selling buzz and the arrival of more XM-equipped 2004-model cars on dealer lots, the company said. Panero said: “XM should end 2003 with a firmly established mass-market entertainment service and be in a solid position to reach cash flow breakeven in late 2004.”