BSkyB Profits Rise Significantly Despite Recession

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB has fared incredibly well in this frosty economic environment and has managed to beat free-to-air rivals by registering the most robust customer growth in past five years.

In fact, the ongoing recession could well be seen as a blessing in disguise for the pay-TV operator with a significant number of people staying at home due to stifling economy and watching high-definition television.

The operator posted a notable 4 percent hike in its operational profits to £780million for the period of one year ended in June in what the company claimed as an “excellent year of growth. Along with this, the broadcaster has added an impressive 124,000 subscribers in the last three months, making the total count of subscribers reaching to 9.4 million.

For the quarter ended on 30 June, the broadcaster posted a net profit of £90 million, which is far convincing than the loss of £9 million posted by the company a year back. In addition, full-year profits for the firm were clocked to £456 million before tax and its revenues rose by 7 percent to £5.3 billion.

Citing the impressive financial performance, BSkyB’s chief exec Jeremy Darroch said, “We think we are well placed to build a bigger and more profitable business in the long term”; however, he refused remarks that BSkyB is “recession proof”, alerting that “looking ahead, we expect the overall consumer environment to be challenging”.