Sky profits down due to broadband spending

Sky has reported a dip in profits for the three months to September and has attributed it to heavy investment in broadband and telephony services.

The broadcaster reported an operating profit of £143m, down from £180m during the same period last year. The £143m figure includes net operating losses of £51m from Sky Broadband and Talk. Overall, revenue rose 11% to £1.185bn.

Sky added 83,000 customers in the quarter for a total of 8.665m subscribers. Take-up of Sky+, HD and broadband was high - subscriber numbers rose 14% to 2.697m, 23% to 358,000 and 31% to 939,000 respectively.

Sky chief executive James Murdoch said: "We've seen continued good demand from customers for our entire product range, with over one million product sales for the fourth consecutive quarter. Sky+ has been exceptional, growing faster than ever before - and is now enjoyed by almost one third of Sky TV customers.

"We launched Sky Broadband in the belief that customers would respond to quality and value, and they have. After just 14 months over one million customers have chosen Sky Broadband, and growth continues.

"As expected, our financial performance reflected strong product sales, our investment in high quality programming and a full quarter of investment in Sky Broadband and Talk. We expect that performance for the full year will be in line with our plans."