The 2003 outlook for Hughes Electronics [NYSE: GMH] subsidiary DirecTV Inc. is more promising that the company’s conservative guidance would suggest, concluded Karim Zia, the cable and satellite analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities.

DirecTV’s guidance of 750,000 to 800,000 net new additions to its satellite TV subscriber base falls short of Deutsche Bank’s estimate of 898,000, Zia wrote in a research note released Thursday. The company’s 2003 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) projection of between $800 million and $850 million is below Deutsche Bank’s prediction of $900 million, Zia noted.