Sky Deutschland expects earnings clarity in three to six months

News Corp-backed German pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland will be in a better position to give accurate forecasts of the future of the business in three-to-six months time, according to CEO Brian Sullivan.

Sullivan told Dow Jones Newswires that he knew the market wanted more detailed guidance about the company’s future performance. The company has avoided making detailed statements about when it expects to go into the black, with a significant loss expected this year and a loss also expected for 2011.

Sullivan said Sky would need to reach about three million customers to break even, compared with 2.48 million at the end of the second quarter. The number of subscribers necessary to break even could rise, he said, if Sky was successful in driving demand for HD DVRs because of the higher investment costs implied by this. However, future growth and profitability would be improved, he said.