Sky TV Growth In 2004 Half Year Results

Sky Television Reports Continued Growth In 2004 Half Year Results

SKY Television announced today a significant improvement in financial performance with a net profit after tax of $12.4 million for the six months to 31 December 2003, an increase of $16.8 million on the previous half year period.

Total revenue increased by 13.9% to $212.1 million compared to the same period last year. The average monthly revenue per subscriber increased by 7.4% and advertising revenue continued to grow, up 34.8% to $11.6 million over the same period.

Operating costs increased by 8.6% to $122.1 million and earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) increased by $16.3 million to $90.0 million.

Free cash flow, the difference between operating and investing cash flows, was $70.1 million during this period, a $59.0 million increase on the comparative period’s result.

SKY’s subscriber base continued to grow, with an increase of 5,150 subscribers since 30 June 2003. This is a reduction on the 13,482 net gain reported in the same period last year. However, it is important to note that in the latest period, SKY’s performance was tested with the Rugby World Cup being shown on a competitive network.

Churn, a measure of subscribers who disconnect their service, remained low with gross churn remaining at the same level as in the previous interim period, at 18.4%.

There were a number of new programming initiatives launched in the interim period, including a daily sports news show, Sport 365, coverage of the New Zealand Breakers basketball, and introduction of the UKTV, History and Disney channels on the basic satellite service. Programming costs as a percentage of revenue fell to an all time low of 39.4%, down from 42.4% in the last period.

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