NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Sirius XM Radio Inc lost more subscribers to its satellite radio service than expected in the first quarter due to weak car sales, overshadowing a rosy outlook driven by cost cuts and sending its shares sharply lower.
The company, which borrowed $530 million from Liberty Media Corp earlier this year to stave off looming debt problems, said subscribers to the pay-radio service declined by some 400,000, or about 2 percent, ending the period at 18.6 million.
“They (shareholders) were disappointed in the sub number," said RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank, who had expected a subscriber decline of about 69,000 in the period.
Sirius shares tumbled 19 percent to 42.5 cents a share on Nasdaq on Thursday afternoon.
Sirius, which gains most of its new subscribers from radios built into cars, attributed the majority of the decline to poor automotive sales. For similar reasons, it expects to see a “noticeable hit" to its subscribers in the second quarter.
Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $236.6 million, compared with $104.1 million a year earlier. Its loss per share was flat at 7 cents, as its outstanding shares more than doubled from a year earlier. Excluding costs related to preferred shares, the loss was 1 cent a share.
Analysts had expected a loss of 3 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company, which borrowed $530 million from Liberty Media Corp earlier this year to stave off looming debt problems, said subscribers to the pay-radio service declined by some 400,000, or about 2 percent, ending the period at 18.6 million.
“They (shareholders) were disappointed in the sub number," said RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank, who had expected a subscriber decline of about 69,000 in the period.
Sirius shares tumbled 19 percent to 42.5 cents a share on Nasdaq on Thursday afternoon.
Sirius, which gains most of its new subscribers from radios built into cars, attributed the majority of the decline to poor automotive sales. For similar reasons, it expects to see a “noticeable hit" to its subscribers in the second quarter.
Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $236.6 million, compared with $104.1 million a year earlier. Its loss per share was flat at 7 cents, as its outstanding shares more than doubled from a year earlier. Excluding costs related to preferred shares, the loss was 1 cent a share.
Analysts had expected a loss of 3 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
