Sky has posted its highest ever first-half operating profit, which is up 16 per cent year-on-year to £601 million.

The satellite broadcaster saw sales in the six months ending December 31 rise six per cent to £3.4 billion and reported that it has added a further 100,000 new households to its customer base which has now reached 10.47m.

More than three million customers now take all three services – TV, broadband and telephony – a rise of 26 per cent year-on-year.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) has risen to a new high of £544 (up from £536 a year earlier) and churn (the rate at which people leave Sky) is fairly stable at 9.6 per cent.

“It has been a strong first half with progress on all fronts. While these are tough times for many consumers, our customers are staying loyal and more households continue to join us,” said chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

He added: “We expect the environment to remain tough in calendar 2012. No consumer business can be immune to these conditions and we will manage any short-term headwinds as they emerge.”

Nevertheless, he said “We’ve got a strong set of plans to keep delivering for customers and shareholders and we have exciting products in the pipeline that will create more ways to access our content and more reasons to join and stay with us.”

Its plans for this year include the launch of an internet TV service during the first half that will provide access to a range of Sky content, including hundreds of films.

The service is targeted at people who do not currently subscribe to a pay-TV service and will be available to anyone in the UK with a broadband connection. There will be no minimum contract and customers will be able to choose from a variety of price options – from paying monthly for unlimited access to Sky Movies to renting a single movie on a pay-as-you-go basis.

“This will be a new way for us to reach out to consumers who love great content, but may not want the full Sky service,” said Mr Darroch.