Middlesex, UK--(Marketwire - February 6, 2008) -
BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING GROUP PLC
Results for the half year ended 31 December 2007
High Quality Growth
Operational Performance: Record product sales, increased loyalty
* Net customer growth in the quarter of 167,000 to 8.832 million
- New customer additions of 385,000
- Churn reduced to 10.0%
- Record ARPU of GBP421
* Record total product sales of over 1.6 million, up 28% from the
previous quarter
- Record Sky+ growth of 434,000 to 3.131 million, up 16%
- HD growth of 64,000 to 422,000, up 18%
- Multiroom growth of 120,000 to 1.531 million, up 9%
- Sky Broadband growth of 260,000 to 1.199 million, up 28%
- Record Sky Talk growth of 236,000 to 915,000, up 35%
Financial Performance: Strong top-line growth for the half year
* Group revenue increased by 11% on the comparable period(1) to
GBP2,458 million
* Gross margin increased by two percentage points on the comparable
period to 65%(2) (excluding exceptional item)
* Operating profit of GBP295 million included GBP91 million of
investment in Sky Broadband and Sky Talk, GBP12 million investment
in Easynet Enterprise and an exceptional charge of GBP12 million(3)
* Adjusted operating profit of GBP307 million(3) (excluding
exceptional item) reflected strong operating metrics
* Basic loss per share of 6.4 pence includes net exceptional items
of GBP282 million(4); adjusted earnings per share of 9.7 pence
(2007: 11.3 pence)
* Interim dividend increased by 8% to 7.1 pence per share
Jeremy Darroch, Chief Executive said:
"We have made good progress during the quarter. Our focus on value and quality
has delivered a strong level of new customer additions, a 35% year on year
increase in product sales, record ARPU, and lower churn. Our business continues
to strengthen."
"We enter calendar year 2008 in good shape. A combination of outstanding choice,
quality and value leadership leaves us well positioned. An 8% increase in our
interim dividend reflects our confidence."
Enquiries:
Analysts/Investors:
Robert Kingston Tel: 020 7705 3726
Francesca Pierce Tel: 020 7705 3337
E-mail: investor-relations@bskyb.com
Press:
Matthew Anderson Tel: 020 7705 3267
Robert Fraser Tel: 020 7705 3036
E-mail: corporate.communications@bskyb.com
There will be a presentation to analysts and investors at 09:30 a.m. (GMT) today
at The Commonwealth Club, 25, Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5AP. A live
webcast of this presentation will be available today on Sky's corporate website,
which can be found at
www.sky.com/corporate.
A conference call for US analysts and investors will be held at 10:00 a.m. (EST)
today. Details of this call have been sent to North American institutions and
can be obtained from Dana Johnston at Taylor Rafferty on +1 212 889 4350. A live
webcast of this call will be available today on Sky's corporate website, which
can be found at
www.sky.com/corporate.
An interview with Jeremy Darroch, CEO in audio / video and transcript will be
available from 7:00 a.m. GMT today at
www.sky.com/corporate and
www.cantos.com.
***
(1) Six months ended 31 December 2006
(2) Gross margin in the six months to 31 December 2006 excludes an exceptional
receipt of GBP65 million from a third party channel provider, accounted for within
programming costs
(3) Adjusted operating profit for the six months to 31 December 2007, excludes
an exceptional non operating item of GBP12 million relating to EDS legal costs
(4) Net exceptional items include GBP12 million relating to EDS legal costs, an
impairment of GBP343 million relating to the Group's investment in ITV, a GBP67
million gain relating to an exchange transaction for National Geographic, GBP4
million relating to mark-to-market in derivative financial instruments that do
not qualify for hedge accounting and related tax adjustments of GBP2 million
***
To view the full text of this press release, click on the following link:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/2939n_-2008-2-6.pdf
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange