Sky deal sees off TalkTalk pay revolt

TalkTalk has kept revenues rising for a sixth quarter in a row, thanks to its expanding TV and mobile business, which helped the telecoms company see off a minor revolt over the pay of its chief executive, Dido Harding.

“The strategy for growth really continues to deliver,” said Ms Harding, who added 185,000 TV customers to take its base to 1.1 million and won 24,000 mobile customers.

Turnover rose 3.1 per cent to £434m, although average revenue per user was flat on a year earlier.

Ms Harding, who announced an expanded deal with Sky to allow her customers to watch Sky Sports on a monthly or daily basis, said she was “confident” TalkTalk’s new TV customers will exceed Sky, BT and Virgin’s, which are yet to report.

The figures were revealed as TalkTalk held its annual meeting, where 9.3 per cent of votes cast by shareholders were against the remuneration policy, and 8.6 per cent were against the remuneration report. The City watchdog, Pirc, had complained that Ms Harding’s £6.8m package, worth 1,255 per cent of salary, was “excessive”.