TORONTO – A 13.5% increase in self-paying subscribers contributed to XM Canada’s “sound” financial performance for fiscal 2010.
Self-paying subscribers totaled 432,200 as of August 31, 2010, up from 380,900 in the same period last year.
Average monthly subscription revenue per subscriber (ARPU) was $11.28 and $11.74 for the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2009, respectively, and $11.21 and $11.88 for fiscal 2010 and 2009, respectively. The company said that ARPU declined in the fourth quarter of 2010 and in fiscal 2010 due primarily to an increase in automotive self-paying subscribers which have a lower ARPU, an increase in subscribers committing to multi-year plans as a result of promotional discounts, and discounts offered to increase retention as a result of the current economic conditions.
“As our costs remain in check, our business continues to evolve and our growth rate outpaces that of the Canadian economy by a considerable margin," said president and CEO Michael Moskowitz, in a statement. "Domestic auto sales continue to be our growth engine and with the sector recovery pace increasing, this bodes well heading into 2011.”
On a year-to-date basis, adjusted operating loss improved by $6.6 million, to a loss of $7.9 million in 2010, from a loss of $14.5 million in 2009. The improvement was driven primarily by a $4.2 million increase in revenue, a $5.0 million decrease in marketing spend, a $1.2 million credit in respect of CRTC fees payable taken during the period, offset by a $1.8 million credit taken due to a modification of a service provider contract in the same period in the prior year, as well as higher cost of revenue and general and administrative costs in the current period.
XM programming is available by subscribing directly through XM Canada and is also available as streams of commercial-free XM music channels on Telus Mobile Radio and Rogers Wireless Radio on Demand. XM Canada is also the exclusive music channel provider on Air Canada’s flights.
For more on the company’s 2010 financial results, click here.
