Boston, MA 10/23/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Sirius XM Radio Inc (NASDAQ:SIRI) is expected to announce strong results for the quarter on October 24, 2013. Revenues are expected to be in the range of $969.67 million with earnings per share of $0.02 for the quarter. The company declared revenues of $940.11 million for the second quarter of 2013. The company provides subscription based satellite radio services in North America and its content consists of sports, music, news, traffic, and weather.
Sirius is expecting a strong growth in its subscriber base. It is focusing on new as well as used-car markets. The U.S. auto market saw a growth of 8% in the third quarter in spite of a slowdown in September. The company estimates that 60% of the new cars sold have Sirius XM receiver preinstalled in them and 45% of the buyers chose to become paid subscribers. The subscriber base has increased from 19 million in 2008 to 25.1 million in second quarter of 2013. The company expects to add 1.5 million new subscribers till end of 2013. The new pricing has also been accepted and this will contribute to both revenues and profits. Sirius has also managed to control overall content costs. These costs accounted for 28% of its revenues in the first half of 2013, declining from 37% 31% in 2009. This is in spite of an increase in royalty rates for music and shows the maturity of its business model. Its competitor has not yet been able to show profits. The subscriber acquisition costs have also been showing a downward trend due to increasing popularity among consumers and original equipment manufacturers. The subscriber acquisition costs consist of hardware subsidies, device royalties, commissions paid to automakers and obligations for product warranties.
The subscriber base is expected to reach 40 million in North America by 2020 if Sirius is able to maintain the current growth. The company is also looking at other markets like Mexico, though no formal announcement has been made. The company can expect exponential growth in its subscriber base once it increases its global footprint.
