19th Apr 2018 09:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sky PLC on Thursday reported higher revenue and profit in the first nine months of its financial year, as it continue improvements in its products and services.
The FTSE 100-listed telecommunications company said like-for-like revenue rose 5.0% to GBP10.1 billion in nine months to the end of March, compared with GBP9.6 billion for the same period the prior year.
Sky said adjusted total costs increased only 3.0% to GBP9.0 billion, and programming costs grew by 4.0% to GBP4.80 billion as it invested further on-screen for customers.
As a result, statutory operating profit was GBP857.0 million, up 22% from GBP703.0 million the year before. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose 10% year-on-year to GBP1.7 billion from GBP1.5 billion.
Sky said it achieved good growth in all territories and all categories. In the UK & Ireland revenue for the third quarter was GBP6.7 billion, up 4.0% from GBP6.4 billion the year before, driven by customer number growth.
In the third quarter Sky's UK & Ireland division added 70,000 new customers, representing 75% growth versus the prior year. This division recorded 13.0 million customers in total as at the end of March.
Sky renewed Premier League rights from 2019 to 2022 at 16% less cost per game in the period, which it said enhances its future growth plans. In addition, Sky Q penetration reached 2.5 million homes across UK, Ireland, and Italy.
Revenue in Germany & Austria was 6.0% higher year-on-year at GBP1.5 billion versus GBP1.4 billion, while revenue in Italy increased 5.0% to GBP2.0 billion from GBP1.9 billion.
In March, the company announced its partnership with Netflix to bundle its full service into a brand new Sky TV pack in Europe. The agreement will see Netflix launch on Sky Q in the UK & Ireland in the coming year, and it will be launched in Germany, Austria, and Italy thereafter.
As a result, it said, the group's customer base grew by 38,000 subscribers over its third quarter, now totalling to 22.9 million consumers.
"It's been a good quarter for Sky," said Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch. "Looking ahead, we have the right strategy and abilities in place to provide customers with the best content, products and service. Whilst we expect the consumer environment to remain challenging, the business is in good shape and we remain on track for the full year."
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