Sky announces £500m share buyback as dividend sees ninth consecutive rise
British Sky Broadcasting has announced a £500m capital return to shareholders via share buy-back, as it releases results for the year ended 30 June (release).
The firm saw profit before tax rise to £1,257m from £1,189m in the same period last year and has seen 150,000 customers sign up for its new Sky Go Extra subscription service in five months.
Jeremy Darroch, chief executive, commented:
We have had another very good year of growth, with revenues up 7%, operating profit up 9% and earnings per share up 18%.
On the back of this performance, we are increasing returns to shareholders with the ninth consecutive rise in the ordinary dividend and we intend to seek approval for a further £500 million of share repurchases.