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Sky posts £6m third quarter loss

30/04/2008

Broadcaster BSkyB made a £6 million loss for the nine months to March 31st 2008, hit by write-downs relating to its acquisition of a stake in ITV.

In the three months to March 31st, Sky lost £6 million compared to a profit of £142 last year.

Losses linked to the satellite provider's deal with ITV were £474 million, according to Sky.

Earlier this year, the government ordered Sky to reduce its 17.9 per cent stake in ITV to below 7.5 per cent.

However, no timetable was set for the sell-off.

Revenue climbed to £1.25 billion from £1.12 billion during the quarter and the company gained an extra 56,000 customers.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: "We are delivering for customers through a combination of great quality, value and service. As a result, more customers are choosing Sky, they are more satisfied and they are taking more products than ever before."

For the nine months to March 31st, Sky said wholesale and advertising revenue fell as a result of its spat with Virgin over fees to carry its channels on the company's cable network.

Wholesale subscription revenue fell by £26 million to £136 million and advertising revenue decreased by £10 million to £248 million.

Following the results, the share price of BSkyB rose slightly to 555p, a 2.68 per cent increase, on London's FTSE 100 index.