Sky Delivers Revenue, Profit Gains

LONDON: Thanks in part to subscriber growth—with its base nearing 10 million—BSkyB has reported a 15-percent boost in revenues to £1.5 billion for Q1, with profit rising from £128 million to £228 million.

The platform claimed a net customer addition of 96,000 in the period to reach 9.956 million. Of that total, 2.3 million subscribe to Sky’s triple play, a 39-percent gain. Also up was the number of HD customers, with a net gain of 215,000 to reach 3.2 million.

“Today’s results show that our consistent strategy is delivering an excellent performance in a challenging environment," said Jeremy Darroch, the company’s chief executive. "Strong top-line growth is converting to accelerating profit and earnings. Operationally, we have made a very good start to the year with 96,000 net customer additions and record take-up of our additional subscription products. In particular, our focus this quarter on home communications has been rewarded with our highest ever take-up of broadband, telephony and line rental, alongside further good growth in high definition. To support our continued growth, we plan to open a new contact centre next year with the creation of 500 jobs."

He added, "This performance, combined with our continued emphasis on operational efficiency, is translating into strong financial results. We’ve delivered 15-percent growth in revenue, 25-percent growth in operating profit, 33-percent growth in earnings per share and our operating margin increased for the third consecutive quarter. These results are underpinned by continued investment in content and innovation, which is bringing more value to customers and growing returns for shareholders.”