XM Satellite Radio Holdings claims a 6.5 million-user base

XM Satellite Radio Holdings has said in a statement that they have added as many as 568,000 net new subscribers in the first quarter of the current year. In addition, the company has also said that the cost of adding new users fell sharply from the fourth quarter.

This means that the No. 1 U.S. satellite radio operator now has a total subscriber base of more than 6.5 million and is aiming to reach a user base of around 9 million subscribers by the end of this year.

This newly added user base is more than what the market analysts expected from the company and this news come some six weeks after investors were shaken by XM’s report that fourth-quarter subscriber acquisition costs ballooned.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett said in a statement on their analysis of the company: “Though the first-quarter subscriber number and affirmed guidance did not represent a big upside surprise, it is still likely to be good for sentiment around the stock. It confirms that subscriber growth remains on track, despite investor concerns over this topic in the last few months.”

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