Sky on track to reach 10 million after bumper year

UK satellite pay-TV operator BSkyB is on track to reach 10 million subscribers by the end of next year as it continues to see bumper growth. The company added 429,000 subscribers to its high definition service and added 90,000 net new customers in the second quarter of the year.

The News Corp-backed pay operator said that 30% of its 9.86 million subscriber base now takes its HD service, although chief executive Jeremy Darroch admitted that this growth will start to slow over the next few quarters.

The company’s latest financial results shows that revenue rose by 11% to £5.9bn (€7bn), with operating profits hitting £855m, a 10% rise year-on-year.

“High definition goes from strength to strength, with more than twice as many customers as a year ago. At the same time, customers are choosing broader bundles of services, with one in five now taking all three of TV, broadband and telephony. Overall, customers are taking 45% more additional subscription products than a year ago,” Darroch said.

“Strong customer demand is increasingly reflected in our financial results, with double-digit growth in each of revenue, operating profit and cash flow. Earnings per share are up 20% to a record 31.1p and we are proposing a further 10% increase in the full year dividend, which has now doubled over the last five years.”