BSkyB profits drop

BSkyB has reported pre-tax profits of £395m for the six months to 31 December, a drop of 4.6% compared with the same period.

BSkyB has reported pre-tax profits of £395m for the six months to 31 December, a drop of 4.6% compared with the same period last year when it reported profits of £414m.

Analysts had predicted a bigger drop taking into account the company's investment in its new broadband service, which Sky said had got off to a “good start”.

The company said it had connected 193,000 broadband customers in the six months to 31 December, with 259,000 activated users by 28 January this year.

In all, the company said it had a net customer growth of 183,000, taking its overall number of subscribers in the UK and Ireland to 8.4 million. Its high definition television service is now in 184,000 homes.

Chief executive James Murdoch said the company had achieved a number of milestones in the last six months.

“Sales of new Sky boxes were the highest in six years. Sky+ broke through the two million barrier and Sky HD almost doubled in size after a strong Christmas sales period.”

The company said growth in profits had been affected by a “weaker TV advertising sector”, but added it expected performance for the full financial year to be in line with expectations.

It said it was “confident in the quality and flexibility” of its products, which it said positioned it well as it entered a “more challenging consumer environment”.

Sky also said it would continue its “acquisition and retention” strategy, saying it expected net subscriber growth to be in the region of 90,000 to 100,000 in the next six months.