Sirius/XM is slated to lose $325 million this year as Mel Karmizon goes through his overhead cutting to bring XM and Sirius together...Here is their press release...
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI)
today provided an update on the company's guidance, a detailed
breakdown of expected 2009 synergies, and an outline of the company's
new "Best of Both" programming options.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/NYTU044LOGO )
The guidance and information was outlined today at the 2008 Merrill
Lynch Media Fall Preview Conference in Marina del Rey, CA. An audiocast
of today's presentation by SIRIUS XM at the conference is available at
the investor relations section of the company's website,
www.sirius.com. The audiocast will continue to be available until 5:00
pm, ET, on Tuesday, September 16, 2008.
The company provided the following new guidance for 2008 and 2009:
Subscribers
-- The company expects to end 2008 with approximately 19.5 million
subscribers and to end 2009 with approximately 21.5 million subscribers.
Revenue
-- SIRIUS XM expects to post pro forma revenue of approximately $2.4
billion in 2008 and to post revenue of approximately $2.7 billion in
2009.
Adjusted EBITDA
-- SIRIUS XM expects a pro forma adjusted EBITDA loss of
approximately $350 million in 2008 and reiterated its previously stated
financial guidance of approximately $300 million in positive adjusted
EBITDA for 2009. Adjusted EBITDA is net income / (loss) before interest
and investment income, interest expense (net of amounts capitalized),
depreciation expense, and non-cash stock compensation expense.
Synergies
-- SIRIUS XM announced it is increasing its estimate of net synergies to $425 million in 2009.
-- The Company also provided a line item breakdown of how the
expected 2009 synergies will be achieved, which will be available as an
exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K that the company is filing
today.
"We have made great strides over the last six weeks and continue to
make progress integrating the company and delivering on our promises to
customers and stockholders," said Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS XM Radio.
"We are finding significant cost savings on every line item of the
P&L and are beginning to realize these synergies already. SIRIUS XM
also continues to be one of the strongest growth stories in media, with
pro forma revenue growth of approximately 17% in 2008."
Today, the company also announced the content line-up for SIRIUS
XM's new "Best of Both" programming options. As part of "Best of Both"
programming, most current XM customers will continue to receive their
existing XM service, and be able to obtain select SIRIUS programming.
Likewise, most current SIRIUS customers will continue to receive their
existing SIRIUS service and be able to obtain select XM programming. In
addition to their existing service, SIRIUS and XM subscribers will be
able to purchase the following channels:
SIRIUS on XM XM on SIRIUS
Howard 100 NBA *
Howard 101 NHL Home Ice *
Martha Stewart Living Oprah & Friends
Radio The Virus
SIRIUS NFL Radio * Public Radio with Bob Edwards
SIRIUS NASCAR Radio College Sports *
Playboy Radio PGA Tour
* Sports offerings will also include channels for play-by-play of NBA, NHL, NFL, and College Sports games.
Included on the "Best of" XM on SIRIUS will be such shows as
Basketball and Beyond, hosted by Duke and Olympic basketball coach Mike
Krzyzewski; Andretti Green, with driver Danica Patrick; 60/20, a sports
magazine show by Luke Russert and James Carville; Indy Racing League
car races; and games from the top college conferences, including the
PAC 10, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East and ACC.
Karmazin stated, "We have been working closely with our content
providers since the day the merger closed and have made significant
progress in those discussions. The resulting "Best of Both" options we
are outlining today represent another step towards fulfilling our
promise of more choices and lower prices for our subscribers. We are
very excited to begin offering existing and prospective listeners
access to even more compelling programming and new packages."
"Best of Both" programming will be available to satellite radio
consumers beginning October 6, 2008 on most existing satellite radios
at a monthly cost of $16.99. Also, the company's full slate of new
packages will be available to consumers on Oct. 6, including the
opportunity to choose programming on an a la carte basis for the first
time ever in subscription media.