Posted by chicagomedia.org on August 07, 2008 at 07:43:25:
In Reply to: "Sirius XM Radio" is officially born posted by chicagomedia.org on July 29, 2008 at 09:20:54:
THE NEW YORK TIMES interviewed SIRIUS XM CEO MEL KARMAZIN in their Technology section TUESDAY (8/5), and uncovered some suprises about the satellite merger -- and KARMAZIN's plans for the company. KARMAZIN says he spent the past year of his life in constant fear that his dream deal was about to unravel. And while integrating mergers is a nightmare for most executives, KARMAZIN says he loves it. He has to slash some $400 million in annual costs and seems almost giddy at the prospect.
"When I became the CEO of CBS, the first thing I did was sell the artwork," he said with a smirk, referring to his tenure at VIACOM before being ousted after a public battle with SUMNER M. REDSTONE. For good measure, he left the walls bare to remind employees he was running a tight ship.
His goal is turn the company into a profitable business, something he suggests is just a year or two away. "Then we can argue about what the company is worth," he said, arguing that it is nearly impossible to properly value money losing business using traditional metrics.
Company For Sale?
And in a shocker, KARMAZIN hinted he may try to sell SIRIUS-XM, like he has the ventures he has run before. "I’m not a visionary; I’m an operator," he said. "And I’ve been a seller. The bankers all want the next transaction."
Sirius Q2 Financials Reported
SIRIUS XM RADIO has announced stand alone SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO second quarter 2008 financial results, including a 25% increase in revenue to $283.0 million, total subscribers in excess of 8.9 million and a 70% decrease in the adjusted loss from operations.
"Second quarter stand-alone SIRIUS results once again demonstrated that we achieved strong revenue growth and solid cost control," said CEO MEL KARMAZIN. "Despite a tough economy and weak auto sales, gross additions set a new second quarter record. In the second quarter both revenue and subscribers grew 25% as compared with last year, while cash costs remained essentially flat leading to a 70% reduction in our second quarter EBITDA loss."
Total revenue for the second quarter 2008 increased to $283.0 million, up 25% from second quarter 2007 total revenue of $226.4 million. Second quarter 2008 average monthly self-pay customer churn rate was 1.6%. The second quarter 2008 conversion rate was approximately 48%. SAC per gross subscriber addition was $78 in the second quarter 2008, an improvement of 27% over second quarter 2007 SAC per gross subscriber addition of $107.
(AA)