Triple-play TV, broadband and telephony provider BSkyB has reported double-digit sales and profits driven by increasing numbers of subscribers signing up for its high-definition TV and broadband products.
The group reported revenues of stg£1.3 billion, a 10pc increase, and profits of stg£128 million.
BSkyB – owners of the Sky satellite TV service in Ireland – reported more than 94,000 net additions across its Ireland and UK network, reaching 9.5 million households on both islands.
Increase in customers
The number of customer taking TV, broadband and telephony rose from 12pc last year to 17pc this year.
The company reported strong demand for Sky+ HD with 287,000 net additions – a threefold increase on last year – and now reaches 1.6 million households with the service.
BSkyB also reported wider access to Sky channels with an agreement to launch a Sky Player on Fetch TV in early 2010 and on Xbox consoles later this year.
From the chief executive …
“Our business has made a good start to our 2010 financial year with another quarter of strong results,” said Jeremy Darroch, chief executive of BSkyB.
“In what continues to be a tough economic environment, we have increased the number of customers joining Sky. High definition has continued to perform very well and more customers are saving money by choosing Sky for each of TV, broadband and telephony.
“The strong operational performance is reflected in today’s financial results. We absorbed the short-term costs of customer demand and delivered double-digit revenue growth, 9pc growth in operating profit, and 15pc growth in earnings per share (EPS),” Darroch said.
“As the year continues, we’ll maintain a clear focus on our customers and on delivering on our priorities, all with the aim of building a larger, more profitable, and better business.”
By John Kennedy
