Profit after tax jumped from £12m to £130m for the six months ending December 31. The dividend will be paid on April 23 and is worth 2.75p on each ordinary share.
There was plenty of good news for BSkyB to report in Murdoch's first set of results since he was controversially named as the successor to Tony Ball last November, much to the chagrin of some investors. The company said that total revenue had risen by 17% to £1.77bn and that the average revenue per subscriber was £369 for the quarter, up by 5% on the same period in 2002.
"These results show a business that continues to improve. We enter our second half with good momentum, robust financial health and a full programme of work," Murdoch said.
His appointment caused a storm of controversy at the company, with accusations of nepotism directed towards his father Rupert, who is chairman of News Corporation and BSkyB. The fallout from Murdoch Jnr's appointment continued last week with the news that Martin Stewart, chief finance officer, is quitting the company. He had been in the running for the top job before Rupert Murdoch declared that his son was "the best man".
One of the concerns of investors at the time of the appointment was that profits from BSkyB might be channelled into other parts of the News Corporation empire, a charge which was denied. BSkyB has not been paying dividends for several years as it invested in digital services, and the restoration of the payment is seen as a gesture of conciliation.
Shares in the company rose this morning by 4p to trade at 771p, a rise of 0.5%.
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