News Corp reports fall in profits
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has reported a 30% fall in profits for the three months to the end of September.
The company, owner of properties including MySpace and the Fox TV network, and majority shareholder in BSkyB, has revised down full-fiscal year operating profit forecasts from 4% to 6% to potentially show a double-digit decline.
It also reported net income of $515 million for the three months to the end of September, down from $732 million for the same period last year. Revenues rose by 6.3% year on year to $7.5 billion.
Murdoch said there will be “across the board” job cuts at News Corporation’s UK and Australian newspapers, which include the Sun, News of the World, Times and Sunday Times.
He said: “You will see even leaner operations in both those places.
“I am not prepared to say how many people. I know, but I don’t want the headlines about it.”
The company’s US cable TV operations and Fox Interactive Media group, which owns MySpace, continued to perform well. FIM saw revenue grow 17% year on year in the quarter to $220 million.
Murdoch highlighted Sky Italia’s boost in operating income from $48 million to $165 million year on year, while gains in affiliate fees and ad revenue lifted operating income from the cable TV network group – including FX and Fox News Channel – by 31%.
News Corporation: www.newscorp.com