Is Sky Network TV (New Zealand) in a financially better or worse
position now (2004) than compared to the previous year? I have looked
at the financials but they're confusing and I'm not sure about the
small print!

Dear shelly68,

I'm not a financial expert and I can't foretell the future, but from a
close reading of Sky New Zealand's statements to its shareholders, I
conclude that the company was in a substantially stronger financial
position in 2004 than in 2003 and the previous years.

I suspect that you found one of the same webpages I did, where Sky New
Zealand lists its publications for investor relations.

Sky NZ: About Sky > Investor Relations > Publications
http://www.skytv.co.nz/index.cfm?pageid=468

The publication you would want to consult for 2004 is titled
"Financial Statement 30 June 2004", while the equivalent for 2003, a
bit further down the page, is called "4. Financial trend & financial
statements (510K)". The 2004 statement lists all its numbers alongside
the equivalent data for 2003, so this is all you have to read for a
direct 2004/2003 comparison. The 2003 report, on the other hand, has
been prepared in a more attractive format and shows comparative data
back to 1999, giving you an even more complete picture of Sky NZ's
financial history.

The essential parts of the 2004 report are presented on pages 2
through 7, while the rest of the document is devoted mostly to legal
formalities. Furthermore, pages 2 through 7 are neatly summarized on
this web page.

Sky NZ: About Sky > Investor Relations > Financial Data
http://www.skytv.co.nz/index.cfm?pageid=466

For definitions of some of the terms they use, you might want to
consult an accounting glossary, as I did.

Accountz: Glossary of Accounting Terms
http://www.accountz.com/glossary.html

New York State Society of CPAs: Accounting Terminology Guide
http://www.nysscpa.org/prof_library/guide.htm

I base my positive assessment of Sky NZ's financial standing on the
following facts. From 2003 to 2004, total revenue increased sharply
from 391.3 million dollars to $440.6m, and net profit rose from $0.7m
to $35.3, showing that Sky NZ has made a solid recovery from its prior
unprofitable years. These gains are supported by a modest increase in
the subscriber base, from 1.48 million to 1.51m, showing that Sky NZ
has been able to offset the precipitous decline in traditional
broadcast viewership (listed as "UHF" in the tables) by attracting an
even greater number of satellite subscribers.

Do note that Sky NZ's total assets have declined from $477.4m to
$407.7m, thanks largely to the liquidation of fixed assets, but that
total liabilities have dropped from $421.2m to $316.1m, resulting in a
much improved total equity, or overall valuation, of $91.5m as opposed
to the previous year's $56.2m. Thus, I conclude that Sky NZ is
unquestionably in better financial shape in 2004 than in 2003. What
the future holds, though, no one can say with certainty.

If you find that my answer is incomplete or inaccurate in any way,
please post a clarification request so that I have a chance to meet
your needs before you assign a rating.

Regards,

leapinglizard


Search Queries:

sky new zealand
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=sky+new+zealand&btnG=Google+Search

accounting glossary
://www.google.com/search?q=accounting+glossary&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

accounting dictionary
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=accounting+dictionary&btnG=Search

The answer stated mainly what I could conclude myself, and was written
clearly.  I had been hoping for  slightly more informed analysis, but
I guess that costs more!