Sky full year profit beats forecast as it targets European expansion

Telecom giant Sky revealed on Thursday (28 July) that its full-year operating profit marginally beat forecast, at the end of what the company described as another excellent 12 months.

In the year to 30 June, revenue rose 7% year-on-year to £11.97bn (€14.23bn, $15.78bn), with adjusted operating profit totalling £1.56bn.

"With revenue up 7% and profits up 12%, it's been another excellent year for Sky," said group chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

"We have broadened our business and expanded into new consumer segments, applying our proven strategy across the group."

Sky said adjusted earnings per share rose 13% during the period to 63.1p, and declared its 12th consecutive year of dividend growth to 33.5p.

The company, in which Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox owns a 39% stake, gained 808,000 customers and sold 3.3 million new products during the period, continuing its new strategy of selling more products to its existing customers rather than aggressively chasing new ones.

The FTSE 100-listed group reported a strong performance across the board, as it passed £8bn in revenue in the UK and Ireland for the first time by expanding its product range, including its new premium Sky Q product.

Sky said it has successfully broadened its TV offering in Austria and Germany, where it has retained exclusive broadcasting rights for the Bundesliga - the German equivalent of the Premier League - until 2021, in a bid to attract more customers. Meanwhile the company's Italian division returned 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," Darroch said.