LONDON--Sky PLC's (SKY.LN) earnings climbed Tuesday as
television subscriber growth and demand for new products in the
U.K. and Germany pushed up revenue for the satellite broadcaster
and pay-TV giant.
Sky, Europe's biggest pay-TV group by customer numbers, said
operating profit before exceptional items--a key measurement of
business performance--in the nine months ended March 31 rose 20%
year-over-year to 1.03 billion pounds (($1.53 billion), compared
with market expectations of GBP1.00 billion from a company-produced
consensus forecast. It didn't disclose net profit.
Revenue rose 5% to GBP8.45 billion, compared with expectations
of GBP8.44 billion. Revenue from operations in the U.K. and Ireland
rose 6%. For Germany, it increased 9%, respectively. Revenue in
Italy fell in a challenging economic environment, it said.
The U.K.'s market-leading pay-television operator said it added
242,000 new customers in the third quarter, up 70%
year-over-year.
The number of products its existing customers use, including
broadband and high-definition TV, jumped by more than one million,
it said. That compares with a rise of 764,000 in the same period a
year earlier.
In February, Sky more than doubled net profit under the first
set of results for the expanded group. In July last year, it agreed
to buy its sister companies in Germany and Italy from 21st Century
Fox Inc. (FOXA) in a deal worth about $9 billion, creating a
pan-European pay-TV giant with around 20 million customers across
Germany, Italy, Austria, the U.K. and Ireland.
Sky is 39%-owned by 21st Century Fox, which until June 2013 was
part of the same company as The Wall Street Journal parent News
Corp. (NWS.AU).
Sky shares closed Monday at 1,052 pence, valuing the company at
GBP18.08 billion.
Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com
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