Broadcasting giant Sky (LON:SKY) reported an “exceptional” financial year on Thursday, boosted by strong demand for its Sky Q service.

Revenues came in 5 percent higher for the full year, hitting £13.6 billion, up for the 29th consecutive year. Statutory operating profit rose by 7 percent to £1.034 billion, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up 9 percent to more than £2.3 billion.

The results were supported by strong customer demand for its Sky Q television service, which has now been installed in 3.6m homes.

Group chief executive Jeremy Darroch commented: “In the UK and Ireland, our largest market, we’ve delivered an excellent operational and financial performance whilst scaling our new initiatives. In Germany and Austria, we have comprehensively upgraded all our services as part of our plans for sustained long-term growth in what is Europe’s largest TV market.

“In Italy, we’ve had a ground-breaking year, opening up significant new growth opportunities for our business by offering new services over DTT and fibre, allowing us to reach new segments of the market. “

Shares in Sky rose at market open, before trading down slightly at 0.06 percent at 1,506.00 (1012GMT).