BSkyB's operating profits up 33%

British Sky Broadcasting has enjoyed a large rise in profits and subscriber numbers.

Over the third quarter, the number of digital-to-home subscribers grew by 171,000 to 5.9 million.

Revenues over the nine months to the end of March increased by 21% to £2.03bn (€3.25bn).

Core earnings (EBITDA) before exceptional items rose by 35% to £190m (€304.5).

Chief executive Tony Ball says: "Sky is reporting another strong set of results today, demonstrating that Sky Digital continues to make progress on all fronts.

"Operating profit increased by 33% to £129m (€206.5m) and positive free cashflow in the quarter resulted in a reduction in net debt of £140m (€224m)."

Direct to home revenues increased by £286m (€458m) to £1.4bn (€2.28bn) in the nine month period, partly due to an 11% rise in average revenue per user.

However, the total number of people who received Sky channels fell to 10.1 million following the collapse of ITV Digital. Around 1.2 million users of the pay-TV service had taken Sky programmes.

The company has already announced it will take a £22m (€35.2m) hit to its bottom-line figures because of money owed to it by ITV Digital. It has also booked a £985m (€1,578m) exceptional charge after writing off its 22% stake in Germany's collapsed KirchPayTV.