Sky Deutschland on track for full year profit

Sky Deutschland said it is on track to deliver positive full-year EBITDA for the first time, after announcing strong third quarter figures.

The German pay TV provider reported a 19% year-on-year revenue increase in the quarter to €392.7 million (US$530 million).

It said subscription revenues were the key driver, supported by higher subscriber numbers, as well as a €1.85 increase in average revenue per user to €34.07.

EBITDA was positive at €29.2 million, while it narrowed its net loss from €16.5 million in Q3 last year to €14.2 million this year.

The firm reported record Q3 viewership with 11.5 million unique viewers and logged 76,000 new subscribers. However, this was below Reuters’ estimates of 81,500 new subscribers.

“Sky’s outstanding entertainment offering is accessible to more customers than ever before, serving as a great platform for further growth,” said Sky Deutschland CEO, Brian Sullivan.

Among the highlights of the quarter, Sullivan mentioned the Sky’s “greatly enhanced Bundesliga offering,” an expanded HD channel line-up, the introduction of its Sky Sport News HD App, and more exclusive content for its Sky Anytime and Sky Go services.

Overall, the firm said it had 3.53 million customers at the end of September, up from 3.21 million at the same time last year. Of these, 1.75 million were signed up to Sky’s Premium HD offering. The firm also logged 18.1 million Sky Go customer sessions in the quarter, an increase of 122% year-on-year.

“Our innovations are transforming the viewing experience for our customers by giving them greater choice, flexibility and control. And in today’s mixed economic environment our financial performance puts us right on track to deliver Sky’s first ever positive full year EBITDA result,” said Sullivan.