 chief Jeremy Darroch has announced plans to cash in £11.5 million worth of shares as the company reported a hit in annual profits.){kind=link}
Sky (LON:SKY) chief Jeremy Darroch has announced plans to cash in £11.5 million worth of shares as the company reported a hit in annual profits.
The broadcaster saw a 14 percent fall in operating profits, largely due to a rise in the cost of its Premier League rights deal of £629 million.
“It is a competitive world out there,” said Darroch. “There is more movement between platforms [rivals] than in the past. We need to keep focused and keep executing our plans. We have good plans in place.”
Whilst Sky increased its customer base by 280,000 in the year ending in June, the broadcaster also saw the number of customers leaving rise from 11.2 percent to 11.5 percent.
Darroch said that streaming platforms such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) were not seen as a direct threat to his business.
“We try hard to be friendly with everybody. A lot of our customers take Netflix alongside their bundle, not at the expense of Sky but alongside Sky,” he said.
Sky is increasing efforts to keep up with rivals such as Netflix however, increasing its budget for original programmes by 25 percent to £750 million annually.
The broadcaster is also planning to expand by creating 300 new roles in technology.
“We are creating 300 new technology roles to further enhance our capability to deploy in and out-of-home streaming platforms.” said Darroch.
“We enter ’17/18 in a strong position with significant growth potential. Despite the broader consumer environment remaining uncertain, we are confident of delivering on the plans we’ve laid out.”
Sky is still the subject of a takeover by Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) – a subject of much controversy.
“21st Century Fox’s takeover of Sky looms large over the group.” said George Salmon, from Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Given the price is 40% above what the shares changed hands for just prior to the offer, this remains the dominant issue for shareholders.
“However, Sky’s full-year results contain some interesting developments.
“The price increases put through as a result of the higher Premier League football rights deal means more customers are choosing to leave Sky than have done for quite some time. Clearly, this presents a problem.”