British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSYBY.PK, BSY.L) reported Friday a strong growth in profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2011, mainly driven by higher revenues from subscription, advertising and wholesale businesses. The company also said it plans to open a new contact centre next year, which is expected to create 500 jobs.
The UK-based satellite television provider reported first-quarter profit of GBP 228 million or 13 pence per share, higher than GBP 128 million or 7.3 pence per share last year.
Excluding the Easynet operations divested on September 1, 2010, profit from continuing operations rose to GBP 182 million or 10.4 pence per share from GBP 134 million or 7.6 pence per share in the prior year.
Excluding certain exceptional items, adjusted profit for the period from continuing operations was GBP 169 million or 9.6 pence per share, compared to last year's GBP 127 million or 7.2 pence per share.
In the quarter, pre-tax profit was GBP 230 million, up from GBP 186 million in the prior year quarter. On an adjusted basis, profit before tax from continuing operations increased to GBP 232 million from GBP 177 million in 2010.
Revenue for the quarter climbed 15% to GBP 1.53 billion from GBP 1.33 billion in the same period last year, with strong growth in subscription, advertising and wholesale businesses.
Retail subscription revenue increased 14% from last year to GBP 1.28 billion, mainly on continued customer growth and success in multiproduct strategy.
Wholesale subscription revenue climbed 24% on higher number of subscribers to premium channels and the first full quarter of revenues from the Living TV Group acquisition. Excluding Living TV Group, wholesale revenues increased 13%.
In Advertising, revenue increased 46% to GBP 102 million, driven by continued growth in pay TV customers and the acquisition of the Living TV Group.
In the quarter, the company record net product growth of 989,000, 12% higher than last year. Net DTH additions for the quarter were 96,000, taking the total number of customers to 9.956 million. Churn was at 11.2%, lower than prior year's 11.3%, in a challenging consumer environment. ARPU, which helps to gauge the financial health of an operator, grew to GBP 514 from GBP 469 a year ago.
Commenting on the results, Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive, said, "Today's results show that our consistent strategy is delivering an excellent performance in a challenging environment. Strong top-line growth is converting to accelerating profit and earnings. This performance, combined with our continued emphasis on operational efficiency, is translating into strong financial results."
Further, the company said it plans to open a new contact centre next year in order to support its continued growth. The centre is expected to create 500 jobs.
BSYBY.PK closed Thursday's regular trading session at $43.52, down $0.70 or 1.58%.
On the London Stock Exchange, BSY.L is currently trading at 699.50 pence, up 2.00 pence or 0.29%, on a volume of one million shares.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com