Sky Reports Strong Customer And ‎Profit Growth

Sky (LSE: BSY.L - news) has announced another strong quarter of customer growth across its portfolio of European home entertainment businesses.

Reporting results for the nine months ended 31 March, the owner of Sky News said that 177,000 new customers joined during the third quarter, with nearly 700,000 products added to homes with Sky services.

Operating profit for the nine-month period rose by 12% to £1.143bn, on turnover up 5% to £8.7bn.

The results underline Sky's ability to continue generating growth from its customer base, with operations in Austria, Italy and Germany‎ as well as its home UK and Irish markets.

The company, which provides pay-TV‎, broadband and telephony services, did see a slight increase in customer churn rates on a 12-month rolling basis but chief executive Jeremy Darroch hailed another "strong quarter".

He said the early response to Sky Q, its new premium viewing platform, had been pleasing‎.

"Our strategy to broaden our business, expanding into new markets and customer segments, has delivered further excellent financial results," he said.

Mr Darroch added that ‎original content such as Lucky Man, a drama series by Stan Lee, reflected Sky's commitment to "unique and high-quality shows".

Sky is the largest broadcaster of live Premier League football but faces a significant increase in the cost of its deal when a new contract begins next season.