Revenue and Profit Gains for Sky

LONDON: Full-year revenues rose by 7 percent to £12 billion ($15.7 billion) at Sky, delivering an operating profit of £1.6 billion ($2 billion), a 12-percent gain.

For the year ended June 30, 2016, the company delivered 808,000 new customers across its assets. “It’s been another excellent year for Sky,” said the company’s chief executive, Jeremy Darroch. “We have broadened our business and expanded into new consumer segments, applying our proven strategy across the group. The group is leveraging the many opportunities of scale; sharing resources, insights, expertise and innovation. We are investing in a broad range of world-class entertainment in every market, distributed across an unrivaled choice of market-leading platforms and supported by excellent service, because these are the things that really matter to customers.”

Revenues from the U.K. and Ireland rose 7 percent to £8.4 billion ($11 billion), while Germany and Austria contributed £1.5 billion ($2 billion), a 12 percent gain. Sky Italy’s revenues were £2.1 billion ($2.7 billion), a 2-percent gain. Overall subscription revenues rose 6 percent, with transactional revenues up 15 percent, program and channel sales up 17 percent and ad revenues up 9 percent.

Darroch noted, “Our focus on operating efficiently and effectively in all our markets has enabled us to further reduce our costs as a percentage of sales, providing more fuel to grow profits and to invest where it counts—on screen and in our products and services. Our deep insights into the needs of customers, along with our investments in brilliant programs and technology, strong relationships with our partners and, above all, our desire to embrace change means that we continue to better serve our customers, and grow our business. Our ambition is to be the best customer-led entertainment and communications company in the world, delivering long-term benefits for all our shareholders.”