Sirius XM posts lower 3Q earnings, revenue climbs

NEW YORK (AP) — Satellite radio company Sirius XM Radio Inc. posted lower third-quarter earnings on Thursday, hurt by a large loss from debt retirement expenses.

The company earned $74.5 million, or a penny per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, down 28 percent from $104.2 million, or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. The results for the latest quarter include a loss of $107.1 million from debt retirement.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $867.4 million from $762.6 million.

Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of 2 cents per share on revenue of $866.3 million, according to a poll by FactSet.

Sirius added 446,000 net subscribers during the quarter, bringing the total to 23.4 million. The company expects a subscriber gain of 1.8 million in 2012, the same as its forecast last month.

The company expects 2012 revenue of about $3.4 billion, in line with Wall Street's expectations.

Last week, Sirius announced that CEO Mel Karmazin will step down early next year. The company has not named a replacement.

Karmazin has been Sirius's CEO since 2004. He oversaw the 2007 merger between Sirius and its rival, XM Satellite Radio Holdings, and became CEO of the combined company.

There was speculation that Karmazin would leave the company after an expected takeover by Liberty Media Corp. Liberty rescued Sirius XM from bankruptcy in 2009 by giving it $530 million in exchange for a 40-percent equity stake. Liberty has since amassed a 47.3 percent share and is seeking a controlling interest. The Federal Communications Commission is currently considering Liberty's proposal. Liberty Media's chairman is longtime cable company executive John Malone.

Shares of New York-based Sirius rose 9 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $2.89 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded in the 52-week range of $1.61 and $2.97.