BSkyB's earnings have climbed sharply as new Chief Executive, Mr James Murdoch, made his debut before concerned shareholders.
BSkyB - 35.4 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate News Corp - said turnover for the three months to end-September rose 17 per cent to £850 million sterling. Profit before interest, tax and exceptional items tripled to£150 million.
Churn, or the number of subscribers who dropped Sky's service, was 9.6 per cent, unchanged from the year-earlier period. Average revenue per subscriber, a closely watched figure that shows how much money Sky extracts from each customer per year, rose £18 to £366.
"[Profits] did come in about £10 million above what people were expecting. That's probably due to lower costs in programming and other areas," Investec analyst Kingsley Wilson said.
Institutional investors were outraged when Mr James Murdoch, who headed News Corp's Star Group pay-TV operation in Asia, was tapped as CEO to serve alongside his father Rupert, the company's chairman.
But shareholder groups, including the Association of British Insurers and the National Association of Pension Funds, toned down the rhetoric after meeting Mr James Murdoch and non-executive board members in recent weeks. Any attempt to block his appointment would have been unlikely to succeed because of News Corp's large stake.
Friday's meeting, which began at 1130 GMT, was expected to feature several fights as shareholders voice their concerns and cast their votes.