BSkyB Announces £178m Profit And Plans For More Channels
BSkyB has announced nine month financial figures which show profit before tax rising 71% to £178 million, turnover up 30% to £736 million and total subscribers now at a record level of 5,349,000. These results coincide with news that BSkyB and Virgin are in talks regarding a new cable and satellite channel and the announcement that BSkyB will have the capacity to launch up to 500 new channels by the autumn of 1997.
Other figures released show that operating profit is up 32% to £223 million and earnings per share are up 53% to 9.7p. Non-terrestrial viewing share exceeded 10% for the first time and subscriber numbers are 800,000 higher than this time last year: one in five households in Britain now subscribes to Sky (5,349,000). BSkyB remains on target to maintain its annual churn rate at between 12% and 13%.
The company has also reached agreement with Societe Europeene des Satellites to secure one half of the operational capacity of a new satellite due to be launched in the autumn of 1997. This will provide the capacity for up to 500 new digital BSkyB channels.
