Sirius Expects 25% Higher Sales for Quarter

Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI Quote) announced preliminary results for its second quarter early Monday, saying it anticipates a 25% jump in both revenue and subscriber numbers from a year ago.

Sirius said that revenue for the second quarter 2008 should be approximately $283 million, up from $226 million in the same period in 2007. The Thomson Reuters average estimate currently stands at $283.9 million. Sirius also said that it will have an adjusted loss from operations of $24 million, narrowing from an adjusted loss of $79 million a year ago. The company did not provide data on a per-share basis.

Additionally, Sirius said its subscriber count rose 25% from a year earlier to 8.92 million. Retail subscribers were up 7% in the second quarter, while OEM subscribers, which include automobile installations, surged 53%. Monthly churn, a measure of how many subscribers left the service, decreased to 1.6% from 2.1% in the year-ago period, and the conversion rate is estimated to increase to 48% from 47% last year.

The company did not provide a date for when it will release its full second-quarter earnings report.

The earnings preannouncement comes a three days after the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger between Sirius and rival XM Satellite Radio (XMSR Quote). Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate voted late Friday to approve it, breaking what had been a 2-2 tie.

The FCC's decision ends a 13-month review process, during which consumer groups and traditional radio operators had lobbied hard against the merger. Sirius and XM have contended that their combination will generate significant cost savings and give subscribers more programming choices.