BSkyB in 'good shape' and trading well

Satellite broadcaster BSkyB said today it was trading well amid signs of increased customer loyalty.

The company posted a first-half loss of £112m (€149m) thanks to a £343m (€459m) write-down on its controversial 17.9% stake in ITV, which it was told by the Government to reduce to less than 7.5% earlier this month.

Stripping out this figure, operating profits were £307m (€410m), down from £336m (€449m) a year earlier as the company reflected the cost of its new Premier League contract and the loss of advertising revenues because of a dispute with Virgin Media over the carriage of Sky’s basic channels.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch, who took over in December from James Murdoch, said the group entered the new calendar year in “good shape”.

BSkyB recorded 167,000 net new customers for the quarter ended December 31 - slightly down on market estimates of 171,000 – taking the subscriber total to 8.83 million.

The broadcaster also reported increased customer loyalty during the period, with “churn” – the number of customers leaving the group – down to 10% from 11.3% the previous quarter.