News Corp’s profits soar due to cable TV
ONGOING investigations initiated upon the closure of scandal-ridden The News of the World last July carved a $63m shaped hole in News Corp in the third quarter, the company reported yesterday.
But operating income grew by almost a quarter to $1.31bn, boosted by double digit growth at News Corp’s cable network programming and film divisions, while profits jumped by almost half to $937m.
Revenues increased by two per cent to $8.4bn, slightly dragged down by a poor performance in the group’s television segment.
News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch said, “I believe we are better situated than ever to capitalise on the increasing global demand for our superior content.”
The media conglomerate also unveiled a $5bn share buyback scheme in addition to the current $5bn programme announced last summer.
Its shares rose by 3.6 per cent after the closing bell.