XM Satellite Radio’s loss widens

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter loss widened as sales through retail outlets slowed and the company faced increased costs related to its planned acquisition by smaller rival Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

Washington-based XM reported a loss of $145.4 million, or 47 cents per share, for the three months that ended Sept. 30 compared with a loss of $85.5 million, or 32 cents per share, a year ago.

Analysts expected a loss of 45 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose 20% to $287.5 million from $240.4 million last year, meeting expectations on Wall Street, as XM added 315,000 net subscribers. The subscriber gain is a 10% improvement over the year-ago quarter, when XM recorded 286,000 new net subscribers.

XM said it finished the quarter with 8.6 million subscribers, up from 7.2 million last year.

XM shares fell 25 cents, or 1.4%, to $15.34 Thursday. Detroit Free Press