LONDON -- British Sky Broadcasting Group
Revenue was up 4.5% to 6.8 billion pounds and adjusted operating profit was a record for the company -- up 14% to 1.2 billion pounds.
The adjusted basic earnings per share were up 22% to 50.8 pence, and a full-year dividend was announced at 25.4 pence per share, up 9%.
Underlining the growth was the increase in total products of 12% to 28.4 million and an increase of customers of 312,000 to 10.6 million. With just a 9.9% churn, Sky is able to hold on to its customers well.
BSkyB -- which competes with Virgin Media, British Telecom, and TalkTalk Telecom for the combined entertainment and communications business -- saw its share price rise slightly today 7.6 pence, or 1.1%, to 693 pence.
Jeremy Darroch, chief executive, commented:
We have delivered record financial results after another year of strong operational growth. Our consistent approach of investing where it matters most to customers and improving efficiency behind the scenes is working extremely well.
In what remains a tough economic environment, customers are choosing Sky over other providers. We've continued to add new households and existing customers are remaining loyal and taking more products from us. More than 9 million homes are now choosing to watch their TV through Sky , we're helping more customers to save money in home communications and innovative services like Sky Go are adding even more value to their subscription.
We continue to transform our financial performance through discipline on costs combined with strong revenue growth from three million product additions and over 300,000 new Sky households during the year. We have delivered double-digit growth in operating profit, free cash flow and EPS, which has now doubled over the last four years. On the back of this sustained strong performance we are increasing returns to shareholders with the eighth consecutive year of growth in the ordinary dividend and we intend to seek approval for a further �500 million of share repurchases.
Looking ahead, we will continue to deploy capital consistently to achieve our goals. We will invest sensibly in areas where customers see value - in getting better on screen and improving our products and services - and maintain a strong focus on operating efficiency and cost control to underpin our investments and deliver increasing returns for shareholders.
Sky's culture of continuously innovating its services, such as the introduction of NOW TV and Sky Go and the addition of new content like Formula 1 and the popular Sky Atlantic, mean that the company is able to retain a competitive edge over its rivals for the entertainment market.
With Sky showing record profits, is the entertainment and communications sector ripe for investment now? Find out what sectors we like in our special report "Three Top Sectors of 2012." It's absolutely free and will be in your inbox right away.
If you don't fancy Sky, why not try a Warren Buffett favorite? Find out what it is in this report: "The British Business That Warren Buffett Loves." Again, it's free, so why not take a look?
Further Motley Fool investment opportunities:
