Satellite Radio News (4.21.04)

The following is a summary of today's satellite radio headlines:

SIRIUS Satellite Radios Available at Nation's Largest Retailer (Sirius Satellite Radio, 4.21.04) Press release notes that Sirius Satellite Radio today announced that select Wal-Mart locations across the country will soon offer one of its satellite radio products. Select Wal-Mart locations will offer the Jensen/SIRIUS portable "Plug & Play" satellite radio with a car installation kit for $149.87. A boombox accessory will also be available for $99.87. "We are very pleased to have SIRIUS product in Wal-Mart," said Joseph P. Clayton, President and CEO of SIRIUS. "With their strong presence throughout the country, and their excellent reputation for offering value to their customers, Wal-Mart is a perfect venue for SIRIUS. We believe that our Jensen/SIRIUS portable 'Plug & Play' satellite radio and accessory boombox will be very popular with Wal-Mart customers." (Read more)

Sirius' Earnings Disappoint (The Motley Fool, 4.21.04)hoteles en Granada Investment article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio released its quarterly earnings report (or maybe I should say "results report") today with revenues and subscriber numbers well below what the most optimistic company watchers had hoped for, coming in at 351,000, or a 35% quarter-over-quarter rise. Management maintained predictions that the company would have in excess of 1 million subscribers by year-end. That's the stuff this company's stock is built on -- nothing silly like current results, which is why 35% gains (usually cause for delirious parties at almost every other company in the world) are a disappointment at Sirius. (Read more)

Sirius Sags Under Heavy Losses (TheStreet.com, 4.21.04) Investment article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio boosted its subscriber count in the latest quarter, but not as much as its fans on Wall Street had hoped. The satellite radio broadcaster's shares slipped 6% Wednesday, after a first-quarter financial report showed the company improving its top line but failing to make substantial inroads into its massive losses. The New York company added 90,602 new customers in the quarter ended March 31. That's a 35% gain, taking its subscriber count to 351,663 at the end of the first quarter. But Wall Street analysts had expected the company to expand its user rolls by something like 110,000 subscribers. (Read more)

Sirius posts loss and adds clients, but stock dips (Reuters, 4.21.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio posted a first-quarter loss on Wednesday, but said its subscriber base grew 35 percent in the quarter, showing continued growth in the fledgling industry. Still that subscriber growth wasn't enough for some investors who sent the company's shares down 5 percent in morning trading. Sirius added 90,902 subscribers in the quarter, which met some analyst forecasts, but fell short of others who believed the company could well exceed 100,000 new subscribers in the wake of competitor XM Satellite Radio's robust first-quarter gains. "Given the size of XM's blowout quarter, investors will likely be disappointed that Sirius did not have a similar upside to original estimates," said Kit Spring, analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. "It was above my estimate of 82,000, but below the whisper number which was above 100,000," Spring said. (Read more)

Sirius backs 1 mln subscriber target for year-end (Reuters, 4.21.04) News article notes that Sirius Satellite Radio is on track to reach its goal of 1 million subscribers by the end of the year, Chief Executive Joseph Clayton said. "The momentum is building," Clayton said on a conference call, following the New York-based satellite radio operator's earnings report. (Read more)

XM Satellite Execs Cash In (TheStreet.com, 4.21.04) Investment article notes that XM Satellite Radio executives enjoyed major raises last year as the satellite operator's stock price zoomed skyward. Chairman Gary Parsons received a salary and bonus of $750,000, a 50% rise from the $500,000 bonus he received as compensation one year earlier, according to the XM proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. President and CEO Hugh Panero received $824,000, up 18% from his salary and bonus in 2003. Additionally, the men received stock option grants valued -- when they were made -- in the range of $1.2 million to $3 million for Panero and $1.8 million to $3.4 million for Parsons, depending on one's assumptions about XMSR's stock-price appreciation. (Read more)