Sky nears final act in takeover bid
Pay-TV group reports 11% rise in core earnings for its established business
Sky, the pay-TV group at the centre of a bidding war between Rupert Murdoch’s Fox and Comcast, posted doubledigit earnings growth after its customer base rose to more than 23 million households, underlining its appeal to its US suitors.
“It’s been an exceptional year of progress, delivering against our plans but also laying the groundwork for the future,” Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch told reporters.
“[We are] excited about the opportunities ahead no matter what our future ownership structure is, we’re certainly not slowing down.” US cable company Comcast is leading the race to buy Sky after it offered £14.75 a share this month, valuing the group at $34 billion (Dh125 billion). The bid came just hours after ■ Fox had upped its own bid to £14. Sky, which is already 39 per cent owned by Fox, reported a 11 per cent rise in core earnings for its established business to £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) for the year to June 30.
Revenue was up 5 per cent to £13.59 billion, beating a forecast by UBS, as the company said it had attracted more than 500,000 customers across its main markets in Britain and Ireland, Germany and Austria and Italy.
Darroch said Sky’s unrivalled content in sport, drama and entertainment would be bolstered by major new partnerships with Netflix, BT Sport, Mediaset Premium and Spotify.