Sky Plc (LON:SKY) today announced its unaudited results for the nine months to 31 March 2018.
Strong financial results
· 5% increase in like-for-like revenue to £10.1 billion
· 14% increase in Established Business EBITDA to £1.8 billion; 10% increase in EBITDA to £1.7 billion
· Adjusted operating costs held flat in absolute terms for a third successive year
· Statutory operating profit of £857 million, up 22%
Consistent execution against clear strategy
· Extended Premier League rights in UK to 2022 with more games and at a lower cost
· European partnership agreed with Netflix to bundle full service into brand new Sky TV pack
· Sky Q penetration reached 2.5 million homes across UK, Ireland and Italy
· Commenced next stage in development of Europe’s best TV service with Spotify to launch on Sky Q next week
· Significant upgrade started to all services in Germany & Austria and Sky Q rolling out on 2nd May
· Agreed landmark deals in Italy with Mediaset to launch a Sky Pay-TV service over DTT, and with Open Fiber to launch a triple-play service
· Added 480,000 new customers in the last year to 22.9 million; Q3 growth of 38,000
Business remains on track for the full year
Jeremy Darroch, SKY Plc Group Chief Executive, commented: “It’s been a good quarter for Sky. We’ve delivered excellent financial results, with like-for-like revenues up 5% and Established EBITDA up 14%. Against the back drop of a challenging consumer environment, this performance reflects the continual improvement in our broad set of products and services and our focus on providing great value every single day – something recognised by customers now taking over 62 million subscription products from us and our services reaching over 120 million people across Europe.
Today’s results not only demonstrate continued strong execution but also extend our position as Europe’s leading direct-to-consumer media business. We’re giving more customers the best viewing experience with the further development and roll out of Sky Q, now in millions of homes and launching in Germany & Austria in two weeks’ time as part of the ongoing transformation of our business in these markets. Customers can look forward to an even broader choice of entertainment through our pioneering new partnerships with Netflix and Spotify, together with our new Premier League deal which secures the UK rights until 2022. We’re continuing to expand the growth opportunity of the business by concluding landmark agreements in Italy with Mediaset to launch a Sky Pay-TV service over DTT for the first time, and with Open Fiber to access their next generation fibre-to-the-home broadband network and launch our own triple-play service in this market.
Looking ahead, we have the right strategy and abilities in place to provide customers with the best content, products and service. Whilst we expect the consumer environment to remain challenging, the business is in good shape and we remain on track for the full year.”
