Sky hikes profits despite challenging consumer market
PAY TV giant Sky has reported a 10 per cent hike in earnings for the first nine months of its year despite a “challenging” consumer market as it remains at the centre of a bidding battle.
The group – which is being fought over by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and US media group Comcast – said it added another 38,000 new customers in its third quarter, taking the total households reached by its services to 22.9 million.
It reported group underlying earnings of £1.7bn for the nine months to March 31, up from £1.5bn a year earlier.
A strong performance in the UK and Ireland, where earnings rose 10 per cent to £1.4bn, and Italy offset an 18 per cent plunge in earnings in Germany and Austria to £68m.
Group chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: “Against the backdrop of a challenging consumer environment, this performance reflects the continual improvement in our broad set of products and services.”
He added: “Whatever happens to the company’s ownership, we all feel that Sky is in a strong position today and that we are well placed.”
Sky agreed to Fox’s £11.7bn deal to take full control of the group in 2016, but since then Walt Disney has agreed to snap up a raft of Fox assets including the Sky 39 per cent stake and the UK competition watchdog has raised a host of concerns over the Fox acquisition.
The Takeover Panel has ruled that Disney must bid for the whole of Sky even if Rupert Murdoch’s offer is blocked.