Sirius XM Books 4Q Profit After Year-Ago Loss

Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) swung to a fourth-quarter profit from a loss last year on subscriber growth, but sales still fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The New York-based satellite radio provider reported a profit of $71.3 million, or a penny a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $81.4 million, or 2 cents a share.

The results matched average analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue was up 7% to $784 million from $736 million in the year earlier, missing the Street’s view of $785.5 million. Net subscriber additions climbed 65%, or 542,966, while net self-pay subscribers grew 7%.

“Our strong content and subscriber focus helped set a post-merger record of 1.7 million net subscriber additions, and we achieved record levels of revenue,” Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said in a statement.

The company predicts its subscriber base will hit another all-time high in the current year. It forecasts adding at least 1.3 million net subscribers during 2012, bringing its total customer count to 23.2 million.

Sirius reiterated its fiscal sales guidance of $3.3 billion, which is mostly in line with average estimates of $3.36 billion.