Ad falls hit revenues at NewsCorp
NEWS Corp last night reported lower revenues because of advertising declines at its television stations and newspapers, while profit rose because of a stronger performance at its cable television, film and book units as well as cost cuts.
The international media conglomerate’s first quarter 2010 net income was $571m (£344m), or 22 cents a share, compared with $515m, or 20 cents a share last year. Last year’s net income included a writedown.
Operating income rose 9.3 per cent to $1.04bn. Revenue fell 4.1 per cent to $7.2bn, beating the average analysts’ estimate of $7.16bn, according to Thomson Reuters.
The results come as News Corp and chief executive Rupert Murdoch try to stem advertising revenue declines at its businesses from newspapers around the world to its local US TV stations. The UK newspaper unit – which includes the Sun and Times titles – reported lower first quarter operating income contributions compared to the year ago quarter due to a 15 per cent reduction in advertising revenues and a six per cent decline in circulation revenues in local currency terms. Financial information division Dow Jones’ first quarter operating results declined from the same period a year ago, due to lower advertising revenue at The Wall Street Journal and lower information services revenue.
Murdoch said: “The strategic steps we took last year to ensure stability during the downturn have proven successful, with significant cost reductions offsetting much of the revenue declines in our Television and Newspapers and Information Services segments. We will continue to manage our businesses smartly and confidently under the security of a strong balance sheet.”