Sky reported steady growth in revenues and profit for the fiscal third quarter to March, while customer growth slowed at the pay-TV provider, due to losses in Italy and Germany. Revenues rose 5 percent year-on-year to GBP 10.14 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year, and recurring EBITDA was up 14 percent to GBP 1.78 billion.
After the costs of investing in Sky Mobile and the OTT service in Spain, EBIT rose 11 percent to GBP 1.13 billion. Statutory operating profit reached GBP 857 million, up 22 percent, and included GBP 11 million in costs for the ongoing takeover battle for the company between shareholder 21st Century Fox and Comcast.
Revenues rose across the business, up 4 percent in UK and Ireland, 5 percent in Italy and 6 percent in Germany and Austria. However, EBITDA dropped by 18 percent in Germany and Austria on costs for the Bundelisga rights and as the company prepares for a major overhaul of its product offer there. Sky shed around 30,000 customers in Germany and Austria in Q3, but said ARPU increased as it focuses more on higher-value customers.
After a drop of 2,000 customers in Italy and net gains of 70,000 in the UK and Ireland, Sky finished March with a total of 22.903 million retail customers. The company said the consumer environment remains challenging, but it's on track for the full year, supported by continued improvements in its content offering, such as the addition of Netflix and Spotify services. The growing penetration of Sky Q is also helping to control costs; the service reached 2.5 million homes across UK, Ireland and Italy and will launch in Germany and Austria from May.
