Satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC said Friday its net profit dropped 13 percent in the third quarter but reaffirmed it is on course to have 10 million customers by the end of 2010 _ even though the British economy is heading into recession.
A higher tax burden pushed net profit down to 73 million pounds ($119 million) from 84 million pounds ($137 million) in the same period last year, the company said.
But operating profit, which excludes financial items such as interest and taxes, during the period was up 21 percent at 182 million pounds ($298 million), and the company said more subscribers helped it post a 5 percent increase in revenues to 1.25 billion pounds ($2.04 billion).
BSkyB, whose biggest shareholder is Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., said it added 87,000 new customers in the three months to end-September, taking its total to 9.07 million. That was the best quarterly performance in five years and keeps the company on track for the 10 million target, set in August 2004.
"This is a good set of results in a challenging environment," said chief executive Jeremy Darroch.
"Over nine million customers now enjoy the best in entertainment through Sky and, in tougher times, we're helping more people to save money on broadband and telephony as well," he added.
The company said its "fundamental" selling point remained its wide-ranging sports packages, including live English Premier League football and Ryder Cup golf, unavailable to terrestrial viewers.
The company's share price rose after the announcement, but was down 0.13 percent to end at 377.50 pence ($6.22) in trading Friday. BSkyB shares have come under pressure recently amid fears that households will cut back on some discretionary spending, such as pay television.
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