Ferguson took over the role from James Murdoch. Martin Gilbert, chief executive officer of Aberdeen Asset Management, has been appointed deputy chairman.
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“Jeremy and the team at Sky have done an outstanding job in building a dynamic and successful company”.
James Murdoch had also been in charge of the company that published the News of the World, but he consistently denied knowledge of the scale of the phone-hacking practices at the paper, which involved systematic illegal eavesdropping on crime victims, politicians, celebrities and veterans. Jefferies said the move “is obviously an intriguing development”.
Sky reported revenues of GBP 5.72 billion in its fiscal first half to the end of December, up 5 percent compared to a year earlier, thanks above all to a surge of customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. As of January 25, 2016, the consensus forecast amongst 28 polled investment analysts covering Sky had it that investors should hold their position in the company. On a statutory basis operating profit was down 2%.
BSkyB was renamed Sky in 2014 after it merged with its two sister broadcasters, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland.
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It said on Friday 337,000 new customers joined Sky in the second quarter, its highest United Kingdom and Ireland customer growth for 10 years. Shares in the company rose 1% in early trading. However these savings were partially offset by a hit from a change in the amortisation profile of content rights in Germany, and investment in programming elsewhere. 21st Century Fox is Sky’s biggest shareholder, owning just over 39% of the company. Sky described its performance as “very strong”, as it continued to transform the group, broadening its business and expanding into new markets and customer segments. This strategy is delivering today and opening up significant growth opportunities for the future. “We are pursuing those opportunities with energy and objective”, said Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch in a statement. “This will bring customers the return of great shows that include Fortitude, Game of Thrones and The Affair alongside new productions such as Vinyl, Billions and The Young Pope”.
