SiriusXM reaches a record 31 million paying subscribers in Q1 2021 adding 126,000 net new subscribers in Q1 2021, an 83% increase from the 69,000 added in the first quarter of 2020. Total revenue increased 2% to $1.62 Bn with gross profit totalling $993 million, relatively unchanged compared to the first quarter of 2020. Advertising revenue grew 24%, helped by strong results in its growing podcast market.
The Pandora streaming arm of the business saw Monthly Active Users (MAUs) at 55.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, down from 60.9 million in the prior year period. Total ad-supported listener hours were 2.87 Bn in the period, down from 3.13 Bn in the first quarter of 2020. Advertising revenue was buoyant increasing 29% to $312 million together with an increase of 113,000 net new subscribers to its Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium services in the first quarter 2021. This helped to increase gross profit by 30% compared to the same period last year. The service ended the period with 6.4 million paying subscribers.
The combined SiriusXM group saw first quarter 2021 operating and financial revenue of $2.06 Bn, an increase of 5% compared to the prior year period. The company recorded net income of $219 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $293 million in the prior year period due to an exceptional charge relating to the loss of its SXM-7 satellite.
