SiriusXM Revenue Surges 37 Percent

SiriusXM today announced third quarter 2019 operating and financial results. Total revenue of $2.0 billion increased 37% compared to the prior year period, boosted by the acquisition of Pandora Media on February 1, 2019.

On a pro forma basis, revenue climbed 7% from $1.9 billion in the third quarter of 2018. The Company's net income totaled $246 million in the third quarter, compared to $343 million in the prior year period. Net income per diluted common share was $0.05 and $0.07 in the third quarter and the prior year period, respectively.

The decline in net income was primarily driven by refinancing expenses associated with SiriusXM's July redemption of its 6.00% senior notes due 2024, in addition to non-recurring tax benefits in the prior year period. The Company's effective tax rate for the third quarter 2019 was 22.2%, compared to 3.3% in the prior year period.

Adjusted EBITDA grew 12% to $657 million in the third quarter and resulted in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 32.6%, growing approximately 160 basis points from 31.0% in the third quarter 2018. The adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter was driven primarily by revenue growth across the business and cost efficiencies in subscriber acquisition costs and revenue share and royalties.

Jim Meyer

"SiriusXM's robust third quarter saw strong results across the board. Total net additions benefited from continuing strength in the auto sector, and our adjusted EBITDA hit an all-time quarterly record of $657 million. Things have never been more exciting at the company as we continue to invest in our brands, content, products and expanded OEM distribution. With two months left in the year, we are raising 2019 guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow and we are confident in our expectations for self-pay subscriber growth," said Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer, SiriusXM.

"We officially opened our new Hollywood studio complex with a special series of shows by Howard Stern. Howard is at the top of his game and was welcomed to LA by an array of stars and special live performances by Adam Levine and Green Day, all from our state-of-the-art street level performance space we call The Garage. Howard's broadcast followed a month of special shows, interviews, and performances in LA exclusively for us by Carrie Underwood, Julia Roberts, Dave Matthews and breakout artist Billie Eilish, to name a few. Re-establishing ourselves in the Entertainment Capital of the world, and being closer to compelling talent and brands, bolsters the value of our programming for our subscribers," added Meyer.

SIRIUSXM

• Self-Pay Subscribers Top 29.6 Million. SiriusXM added 302,000 net new self-pay subscribers in the third quarter to end with more than 29.6 million self-pay subscribers. Total net subscriber additions in the third quarter were 210,000, resulting in more than 34.6 million total SiriusXM subscribers at the end of the period. Paid promotional subscribers decreased due to declines in shipments from automakers offering paid promotional subscriptions. Self-pay monthly churn for the quarter was 1.7%, compared to 1.8% in the third quarter of 2018.
• SiriusXM Revenue of Nearly $1.6 Billion. Third quarter revenue of $1.6 billion grew 7% compared to the prior year period. This growth was driven by a 3% increase in total SiriusXM subscribers and 3% growth in SiriusXM's average revenue per user (ARPU) to $13.90.
• Gross Profit Grows 7%. Total cost of services at SiriusXM increased 6% to $596 million in the third quarter, driven primarily by higher revenue share and royalties and programming and content expenses. Gross profit at SiriusXM in the quarter totaled $970 million, increasing 7% over the third quarter of 2018, and produced a gross margin of 62%, flat compared to the prior year period.

PANDORA

• Advertising Revenue Hits All-Time High. Ad revenue at Pandora reached a record $315 million, growing 8% over the third quarter of 2018. Ad revenue was driven by strong third quarter monetization of $85 per thousand hours, growing 10% over the third quarter 2018. Strength in traditional audio advertising, boosted by video programmatic and engagement-based video, as well as the expansion of off-platform efforts and fees generated on the AdsWizz platform drove revenue growth. Total revenue for Pandora grew 7% to $447 million in the quarter, aided in part by a 5% increase in subscriber revenue to $132 million.
• Total Ad Supported Listener Hours of 3.32 Billion. Monthly Active Users (MAUs) at Pandora were 63.1 million at the end of the third quarter, down from 68.8 million in the prior year period. Total ad supported listener hours were 3.32 billion in the period, down from 3.59 billion in the third quarter of 2018.
• Self-Pay Net Adds of 33,000. Pandora added 33,000 net new self-pay subscribers in the third quarter to end with nearly 6.3 million self-pay subscribers. In the third quarter, a one-year paid promotional subscription trial with T-Mobile ended, resulting in approximately 700,000 paid promotional trials being retired. This brought total Pandora subscribers to over 6.3 million at the end of the period, which included a paid promotional subscriber base of 45,000.
• Gross Profit Grows 19%. Total cost of services at Pandora in the third quarter 2019 of $278 million increased 1% compared with the third quarter 2018. This resulted in gross profit at Pandora of $169 million, up 19% over the third quarter 2018, and produced a gross margin in the quarter of 38%, growing approximately 400 basis points from 34% in the prior year period. This expansion was driven primarily by lower revenue share and royalties and customer service and billing expenses as a percentage of revenue.