News Corp posts $1.6bn fourth quarter loss

News Corporation made a loss of $1.6 billion (£1.2 billion) in the last quarter, compared with a net income of $163 million in the same period last year.

The loss included $2.8 billion in re-structuring charges related to spinning off its publishing business.

The results show that revenues dipped 6.7% to $8.4 billion, following disappointing TV ratings for shows including American Idol and low box office takings.

News Corp said the losses were mainly linked to poor performances at the company’s Australian publishing business.

The Murdoch-owned group also confirmed that legal costs relating to the phone-hacking investigation had risen to $224 million for the 2012 fiscal year.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, said: “News Corporation is in a strong operational, strategic and financial position, which should only be enhanced by the proposed separation of the media and entertainment and publishing businesses.”

When the plans were announced in June, Raymond Snoddy said: “The move by Rupert Murdoch to hive off his publishing interests into a new company should come as no surprise. The only surprise is that it hasn’t been done before.

“While News Corp was always portrayed as the integrated media company par excellence, in fact television and pay television in particular is marching to a very different drum in terms of revenues profit and perceived value to publishing.

“If you can add say 10% to the value of a multi-billion corporation by what is little more than a paper transaction why on earth would you not do it?”

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