Sirius Satellite Radio reported record revenues for its second quarter 2005, driven by increased subscriber numbers and low churn. However, the company also reported a widening net loss due to higher subscriber acquisition costs, programming costs and other expenses.

As of June 30, Sirius had about 1.8 million subscribers, including the addition of 365,931 net subscribers during the second quarter 2005, a 184 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago. About 245,000 of the subscribers came from retail channels, with about 122,000 added through Sirius’ partnerships with automotive manufacturers.

During an Aug. 2 conference call with analysts, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said the company has reached parity in the retail market with rival XM Satellite Radio, gaining a 48 percent share of the retail market.

Given its continued subscriber growth, Sirius raised its subscriber guidance to 3 million subscribers by the end of 2005, up from previous guidance of 2.7 million. Karmazin attributed the increasing subscriber figures to a 94 percent customer satisfaction rate. The company reported churn of 1.4 percent during the quarter, which Karmazin attributed to high usage rates, along with high satisfaction numbers.

Sirius reported record revenues of $52.2 million for the second quarter 2005, a 295 percent increase from the $13.2 million in revenues reported in the second quarter 2004. The net loss for the quarter was $177.5 million, compared to a net loss of $136.8 million reported in the same period a year ago.