BSkyB sees 21% rise in profits

BSkyB has posted a better than expected rise in operating profit, with a 21% lift to £182m in the three months to the end of September, excluding exceptional operating costs of £3m. It has also reported strong new-customer growth.

The pay TV company saw net customer growth of 87,000, which was up 5% year on year to 9.067 million. The churn rate also saw a 0.4 percentage point improvement year on year to 10.9%.

Revenue increased 5% on the comparable period to £1.249m. It also experienced growth in its additional products, with Sky+ customers now totalling over four million and Sky+ HD growing by 93,000 to 591,000.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch says: “Our financial performance is strong, with a 21% increase in operating profit. Looking ahead, the consumer environment will remain challenging and we are well positioned to manage the business accordingly. Our products are better than ever, we are strong financially and we have a great team of people.”