Sky on Wednesday reported a 6% jump in fiscal first quarter revenues, driven by strong customer additions across its operating footprint.
In the three months ended 30 September, the U.K.-based triple-play provider added 134,000 new customers, giving it a total of 21.1 million, compared to 20.2 million a year earlier. Including wholesale customers, Sky’s subscriber base comes to 25.3 million, up from 24.3 million in Q1 2014.
"We have made a strong start to the year with customers responding well to the quality and breadth of our content, products and services," said Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch, in a statement.
He said Sky’s effort to make premium content across multiple platforms and devices has not only attracted new customers, but has also "delivered an excellent financial performance."
Group revenue grew 6% year-on-year to £2.8 billion, while operating profit grew 10% to £375 million. EBITDA increased to £529 million from £494 million in the same quarter a year earlier.
The U.K. and Ireland, which accounts for the bulk of Sky’s revenue and earnings, saw revenue climb to £2 billion from £1.9 billion in Q1 2014, and operating profit increase to £358 million from £299 million on falling costs.
Sky’s U.K. and Ireland retail customer base grew to 12.1 million from 11.5 million a year ago. In the hotly-contested fixed broadband market, Sky recorded net additions of 133,000 in the U.K. and Ireland, giving it a total of approximately 5.76 million.
Sky could not resist another chance to pressure Ofcom to force a full separation of fierce rival BT from its infrastructure arm Openreach.
Paraphrasing its submission to the regulator’s Strategic Review of Digital Communications (SRDC), Sky outlined three growing problems in the U.K. telco sector: diminishing competition in the provision of broadband services; Openreach’s poor quality of service; and the level of investment, or lack thereof, in fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks.
"We believe that BT’s vertical integration…lies at the heart of these issues," Sky said, in a statement.
Meanwhile, in Germany and Austria, Sky’s revenue surged 11% year-on-year to £336 million. However, it swung to an £8 million operating loss from an £8 million operating profit a year earlier, driven by increased costs stemming from Bundesliga football and Champions League football.
Meanwhile, Sky’s Italian operation reported fiscal first quarter revenue of £454 million, down from £474 million in the same period a year ago. Sky attributed the performance to a falling customer base driven by a "challenging economic backdrop" and the loss of Champions League football rights.
In the 12 months to 30 September, Sky’s Italian customer base fell to 4.69 million from 4.7 million.
