Q1 saw revenue of $897 million, up 12% from Q1 2012’s revenue of $805 million. Net income for Q1 2013 and 2012 was $124 million and $108 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter reached a record $262 million, up 26% from $208 million in Q1 2012.
“SiriusXM’s first quarter results show a continuation of our trend of strong, profitable growth. We turned in our best first quarter for subscriber additions since the merger, and with our continuing sharp focus on costs, we set an all-time high for adjusted EBITDA. With our strong free cash flow and low leverage, we repurchased 209 million shares so far and have now returned nearly $1 billion in total to our stockholders since the end of December via stock buybacks and a special dividend,” said Jim Meyer, SiriusXM’s newly-appointed CEO. “We continue to focus on profitable subscriber growth first and foremost. We expect to achieve record adjusted EBITDA margins this year, which is all the more impressive considering our investments in new content, services, and expanding our distribution in the previously-owned vehicle market. We are off to a great start for the year and are confident in achieving our guidance.”
The total paid subscriber base reached a record 24.4 million, up 9% from the prior year. Self-pay net subscriber additions were 304,000, a slight increase from Q1 2012, while the overall self-pay subscriber base reached a record high of 19.9 million, up 9% from a year prior. Total paid and unpaid trials grew by 443,000 year over year to 6.2 million.
While gross additions climbed 16%, total subscriber acquisition costs excluding purchase price accounting adjustments fell slightly YOY to $138 million in Q1, driving an improvement in SAC per gross addition of 15% to $51 from $60 in the first quarter of 2012.
Free cash flow also hit a new record, jumping to $142 million, up from $15 million in Q1 2012.
SIRI raised its free cash flow guidance and reiterated its 2013 guidance for subscriber growth, revenue, and adjusted EBITDA:
–Self-pay net subscriber additions of approximately 1.6 million,
–Total net subscriber additions of approximately 1.4 million,
–Revenue of over $3.7 billion,
–Adjusted EBITDA of over $1.1 billion, and
–Free cash flow of $915 million.
RBR-TVBR observation: Along with offering free subscription packages for new and used car buyers (Kia used car dealers being the latest), SiriusXM isn’t sitting on its laurels. The company keeps adding concerts and specials across most of its channels, special feature channels with artists and new offerings such as the MySXM online music service. Of course, if also doesn’t hurt that they’re now the only satellite-delivered audio content provider in town…
