The Toronto-based company is one of two which launched a satellite radio service in Canada last year, after receiving a licence from the federal broadcast regulator. It sold about $55 million worth of its stock in December in an initial public offering of about 3.4 million subordinate shares that valued the company at about $800 million.
John Bitove, chief executive of CSR and XM Canada, said in a statement Thursday that subscriptions were running ahead of management expectations but the company didn’t provide details.
CSR was scheduled to discuss the guidance about its subsriptions on Friday at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
In December, XM Canada president and chief operating officer Stephen Tapp said that more than 100,000 XM satellite radios would be shipped to retail stores in Canada by Christmas.
There had been concern that a delay in launching the XM Canada and Sirius Canada satellite radio services, due to an appeal of their licences by a rival broadcasting group, would hamper sales during the Christmas holiday season.
XM Canada offers more than 80 channels to radios that are specially designed to receive its signals. It charges subscribers $12.99 a month. The cost of radios ranges from $79.99 (after rebate) to $399.99, for cars, homes and portable use.
