Sky Deutschland: ‘Profits in 2011’
Written by Chris Forrester
Sunday, 28 February 2010 08:08


Sky Deutschland, the News Corp-controlled pay-TV broadcaster, says it expects to move into profit next year (2011), although this year will still be represented by losses.

Sky Deutschland’s official guidance is that it expects to report a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of between €130m ($175.6m) and €170m this year before reporting a profit on that same basis next year.

“There is no change in the guidance we gave in December,” departing CEO Mark Williams said during a conference call. The break-even will come from “steady” costs and “solid” revenue growth, mainly because of improved average revenue per user, or ARPU, Williams said.

Monthly ARPU rose to €27.45 in Q4 from €23.86 a year earlier, the company said. ARPU “is continuing its strong growth in the current quarter,” the CEO said during the call. Sky Deutschland said in November that average revenue per user would advance to about €29 in Q1 this year. Seventy-five percent of its residential subscribers are already paying “in excess of €30,” Williams said.

Sky Deutschland shares fell 1.9 percent to €1.786 on the day, giving the company a market value of €962.9m.