News Corp said its first-quarter total revenue fell 4.5 per cent to $US2.014 billion ($2.82 billion) from $US2.108 billion in the year-earlier period.
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Net profit rose 31.2 per cent to $US143 million in the three months ended September 30.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 6 cents per share and revenue of $2.09 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. News Corp’s shares were unchanged at $15.35 in extended trading. The company was boosted by a one-off tax benefit related to the sale of its digital education business. Total revenue fell 4.5 percent to $2.01 billion.
News Corp’s digital listings business, which includes the REA group, reported flat earnings at $57m but lifted revenue 71% to $191m.
The company saw an 11 percent slide in revenue at its News and Information Services unit, hurt by a drop in advertising revenue.
“News Corp is on track in its transition to a more digital and global future, having successfully integrated several recent acquisitions and built a powerful platform for future growth”, Chief Executive Robert Thomson said in a statement. Publishing revenues declined by 9 per cent.
Advertising revenue in the segment was down 13 per cent during the quarter, despite an increase in digital advertising sales. The CEO noted that foreign exchange relations fluctuations did impact results, but it could not obscure the progress of the businesses.
The shift mirrors the fortunes of its Australian media rival Fairfax, which on Thursday said revenue at its own real estate advertising business Domain had jumped 68 per cent so far this year, while the print publications had reported a nine per cent slide in revenues.
News Corp’s mastheads include The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, as well as The Sun and The Times in the United Kingdom and the Wall Street Journal and New York Post in the US.
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Meanwhile, Bedi Singh, News Corp’s chief financial officer, said a review of the Australian business is due and the company is “looking for additional operating efficiencies in the short-term”.
