Sky
Revenue £8,453m, up 5%
Shares in Sky have not been at their present level since 2001. From an investment point of view, they are a straight bet on how long the satellite broadcaster can continue to increase customer numbers, sell them an increasing amount of content and persuade them not to go elsewhere.
Sky is seen as a go-go media stock, but it resembles a boring utility. You get beyond a certain subscriber base and, providing that you source what you sell them properly, whether it is water, power or television programmes, it is almost impossible to lose money.
The company passed that stage some years ago and there is nothing in the nine-monthly figures to suggest that growth will not continue. It added