News Corp Reports Profit Decline

News Corp reported a drop in net income in its fiscal second quarter, weighed down by foreign exchange fluctuations and lower advertising revenue at its news and information services unit.

The company—which publishes The Wall Street Journal as well as other newspapers in Britain, Australia and the U.S.—reported profit of $63 million, or 11 cents a share, down from $143 million, or 24 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell to $2.16 billion from $2.26 billion a year earlier as the company saw an 8% drop in revenue at the news and information services segment, which accounts for two-thirds of News Corp's total revenue. Meanwhile, the small-but-growing digital real-estate business reported a 35% jump in revenue.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 20 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected total revenue of $2.12 billion in the quarter and adjusted per-share earnings of 21 cents.

Over all, News Corp's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell 20% in the period to $280 million because of declines in revenue at the news and information services, book publishing and cable network programming units. Foreign currency fluctuations reduced Ebitda by $25 million, the company said.

"Macroeconomic conditions in most of our markets have not been auspicious, and foreign exchange fluctuations have been particularly volatile, but we believe in the enduring value of our prestigious brands and the sound logic of our digital strategy," News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson said.

The company disclosed that digital ad sales accounted for one-third of the advertising revenue in its news and information services division, which includes The Wall Street Journal.

Write to Lukas I. Alpert at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 04, 2016 17:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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