SiriusXM Reports Strong 2018 Finish, 34M Subs

SiriusXM today announced fourth quarter and full-year 2018 operating and financial results, including record revenue of $1.5 billion and $5.8 billion, respectively, increasing 7% and 6% compared to the prior year periods.

The Company's net income totaled $251 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $(37) million in the prior year period, while full-year 2018 net income grew 81% to a record $1.2 billion. Net income (loss) per diluted common share was $0.06 in the fourth quarter, compared to $(0.01) in the prior year period, while full-year 2018 net income per diluted common share grew 88% to $0.26. Adjusted EBITDA grew 6% to $576 million in the fourth quarter, and grew 6% for the full-year 2018 to a record $2.2 billion.

Jim Meyer

"SiriusXM had a strong finish to 2018, a year that saw our ninth consecutive year of one-million-plus net subscriber adds and our lowest full-year churn rate in the past decade. We have set even more ambitious goals for the Company to continue growing in 2019. In addition, we were pleased that yesterday Pandora's stockholders voted in favor of our proposed merger, and expect to close the transaction shortly," said Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM.

"Our disciplined approach to business models carries through to our programming decisions as a creator and curator of exclusive, compelling programming in talk, music and sports. We recently announced a special concert by KISS on the Sunset Strip, held a subscribers-only performance by Ricky Gervais in New York, launched back-to-back daily political shows with CNN's Chris Cuomo and ABC's Dan Abrams, and brought on two new full-time college sports channels. And this week, we are offering an unrivaled array of channels and shows from Radio Row at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta," added Meyer.

Full-Year 2018 Highlights:

• Total Subscribers Top 34 Million. The Company added 414,000 net new self-pay subscribers in the fourth quarter and 1.4 million for the full-year to end 2018 with approximately 28.9 million self-pay subscribers. Total net subscriber additions in the fourth quarter and full-year were 346,000 and 1.3 million, respectively, resulting in more than 34.0 million total SiriusXM subscribers at the end of 2018. Self-pay churn for 2018 totaled just over 1.7%, the lowest full-year churn rate since 2007.
• Revenue of $5.8 Billion. Full-year 2018 revenue grew 6% compared to 2017 to a record $5.8 billion. This growth was driven by a 4% increase in subscribers and growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) to $13.34. The full-year 2018 ARPU was impacted by the adoption of the new revenue recognition accounting standard (FASB ASU 2014-09) which reclassified approximately $95 million of revenue to offset expenses principally related to automaker agreements. Excluding these reclassifications, which reduced reported ARPU by $0.24 for the full-year 2018, ARPU would have increased by 2.5%.
• Record Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA in 2018 reached a record $2.2 billion, growing 6% over the full-year 2017. The Company's adjusted EBITDA margin of 38.8% for 2018 was nearly flat over 2017's 38.9% adjusted EBITDA margin, despite the approximately 40% increase in satellite radio music performance royalties that took effect on January 1, 2018.
• Net Income Grows 81%. Net income for the full-year 2018 totaled $1.2 billion, up 81% from $648 million in 2017. This increase included a $43 million unrealized gain associated with the change in fair value of the Company's Pandora investment, in addition to savings from the Tax Act, which reduced the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% and savings from research and development credits. The Company's effective tax rate for the full-year 2018 totaled 17.2%, which is below the approximately 24-25% rate expected in the future.