Sky share price: Full-year revenue rises 7%
Sky (LON:SKY) has updated investors on its full-year performance this morning.
**Highlights from the company statement:**
Strong group results
· 7% increase in revenue to £11,965 million with adjusted operating profit up 12% to £1,558 million
· 13% increase in adjusted EPS to 63.1p; twelfth consecutive year of dividend growth to 33.5p
· 808,000 new customers and 3.3 million new products sold across year; products pass 57 million
· Statutory results: 20% increase in revenue; operating profit up 1% to £977 million; EPS of 39.0p
International strategy ahead of plan
· Sustained strong performance in the UK and Ireland; revenue passes £8 billion
· Enhanced customer proposition in Germany and Austria driving first ever full year operating profit
· Offering the best TV across a choice of platforms delivers a return to customer growth in Italy
· Current synergy target of £200 million by 2017 on track; extending to £400 million by 2020
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Exciting plans for 2016/17 and beyond
· Sky 1 to launch in Germany with exclusive series of world-leading cookery show MasterChef
· Expanding our European streaming services; launch of Sky Ticket in Germany, NOW TV in Italy and the NOW TV Combo in UK – the UK’s first ever contract free triple play bundle
· Launch of Ultra HD services in UK and Germany
· Sky Kids app to launch across Europe following success in UK and Ireland
· Launch of Sky Virtual Reality app cements our leadership in innovative, immersive content
Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, commented:
“With revenue up 7% and profits up 12%, it’s been another excellent year for Sky. We have broadened our business and expanded into new consumer segments, applying our proven strategy across the group.
“The group is leveraging the many opportunities of scale; sharing resources, insights, expertise and innovation. We are investing in a broad range of world class entertainment in every market, distributed across an unrivalled choice of market-leading platforms and supported by excellent service, because these are the things that really matter to customers.
“Each of our markets is making very strong progress. In the UK and Ireland we passed £8 billion in revenue for the first time by giving consumers more and more reasons to choose Sky including our new premium service, Sky Q. In Germany and Austria, we have broadened our TV offering to attract more customers. Today we are announcing the launch of Sky 1 which combines with our new Sky Arts channel, Sky Atlantic and increased on demand content to create a compelling entertainment portfolio. We have also ensured that Sky remains the undisputed home of the Bundesliga until 2021. Our business in Italy is outperforming a competitive market, delivering programmes which capture the public’s imagination such as Gomorrah, X Factor and Moto GP across a growing choice of platforms. This approach is working, with the Italian customer base returning to growth for the first time in five years.
“Our focus on operating efficiently and effectively in all our markets has enabled us to further reduce our costs as a percentage of sales, providing more fuel to grow profits and to invest where it counts – on screen and in our products and services.
“Our deep insights into the needs of customers, along with our investments in brilliant programmes and technology, strong relationships with our partners and, above all, our desire to embrace change means that we continue to better serve our customers, and grow our business. Our ambition is to be the best customer-led entertainment and communications company in the world, delivering long term benefits for all our shareholders.”
As of 07:51 BST, Thursday, 28 July, Sky Plc share price is 887.50p.
