BSkyB revenues hit £4.4bn

BSkyB enjoyed a 10% increase in revenues to £4.4 billion in the nine months to the end of March, with adjusted operating profit up 5% to £168 million.

The satellite broadcaster said that the increase in adjusted operating profit was despite the “upfront cost of strong demand for HD”.

There was high demand for its high definition offering in the first quarter, with it gaining an additional 28,000 HD customers – a 76% year on year increase – following a reduction in the price of the Sky+HD box.

Pre-tax profits were up a massive 454% in the three months to the end of March, to £349 million.

Profits were boosted by the February sale of 10.4% of its 17.9% stake in ITV.

And BSkyB’s total customer base now stands at 9.77 million following the addition of 62,000 net new customers in the first quarter.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: “We have seen a huge response to our decision to cut the upfront cost of high definition, with net additions of 428,000 – up 76% on the prior year.

“The number of customers taking all three of TV, broadband and telephony is up 39% year on year and, as customers reward us with more of their business, ARPU has surpassed £500 for the first time.”

He added: “Our leading HD box is allowing us to bring more innovation to customers faster and at lower cost. The launch of Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3D TV channel, has got off to a good start, with more than 1,000 venues signed up so far. We’re on track to bring 3D to residential customers later this year along with our new video-on-demand service, Sky Anytime+. All of this will be available through our existing HD box.”