Sky TV will resume paying a dividend to shareholders, after a posting a solid full-year result.
Total Sky TV customers rose on the previous year from 955,000 to 990,761. (File image) Photo: Supplied / Richard Parsonson
Key numbers for the year ended June compared to a year ago:
- Net profit $62.2 million versus $47.2m
- Revenue $736.1m versus $711.2m
- Underlying profit $169m versus $186.4m
- Final dividend 7.3 cents a share versus no dividend
Chief executive Sophie Moloney said the strong result showed the company had reached a positive inflection point, building on the trends the business reported in the first six months of the year.
"Our focus on what matters most - our customers, content, crew and capability - is achieving results, and, encouragingly, means we outperformed against a number of our FY22 targets as the team continued to deliver for our customers, partners and investors."
The company's return to revenue growth was driven by a 27 percent rise in streaming earning, higher revenue per average customer, an 8 percent lift in commercial sales, as well as a $14m gain from the sale of Sky's Mt Wellington properties.
Total customers rose on the previous year from 955,000 to 990,761, which was driven by a 11 percent increase in the number of customers who were streaming content.
Sky Box subscriptions continued to fall, down 4.5 percent compared with last year's 3.8 percent decline.
Moloney said the company had realised savings of $42m in operational and capital expenditure, despite an increase in sports and entertainment programming costs.
Sky chair Philip Bowman said the company's solid cash position meant it was in the position to return $70m to shareholders and pay out a sustainable dividend in the years to come.
Looking ahead, the company expected customer numbers and revenue to continue to grow, despite the anticipated increase in programming costs and higher investment associated with its new Sky Box.
It was forecasting revenue between $750m and $770m, underlying earnings of between $150m and $170m and a bottom line of between $50m and $60m for the current financial year.
Moloney said while there were clear economic headwinds in the current financial year, the business was looking at FY24 with confidence, as it moved beyond this inflection point to position the business to capture opportunities that were within its sights.