Sirius loss widens

Sirius reported a wider loss for its second quarter as the company continued to build its subscriber base. Sirius also raised its subscriber forecast. The subscription radio service said it lost $237.8 million, compared with a loss of $177.6 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue jumped to $150.1 million from $52.2 million in the year-ago period, largely due to a bigger subscriber base. Sirius said it added 600,460 net subscribers in the second quarter, giving it 4.7 million at the end of the period.

The company said it is now on track to have 6.3 million subscribers by the end of 2006, up slightly from its previous guidance of 6.2 million. It also expects slightly higher revenue of $615 million versus its previous estimate of over $600 million.
Sirius expects to launch a new handheld live satellite radio unit by the end of the summer. The unit, to be called the Stilletto, is still being tested.