News Corp. earnings jump 27 percent
Media giant's earnings beat analyst expectations on the strength of its television and film businesses.
News Corp., the parent company of MySpace, announced its fourth quarter earnings Tuesday, beating Wall Street expectations on the strength of its television and film businesses.
News Corp. reported a net income of $1.1 billion, or 43 cents a share for the quarter ended June 30, a 27 percent increase over last year. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose to 35 cents per share, a cent higher than analysts had been expecting.
CEO Rupert Murdoch noted in a statement that the company was pleased with its growth, but noted challenges ahead.
"Although we clearly face more challenging macro-economic conditions in fiscal '09, we're well positioned to deliver continued, if somewhat less robust growth," Murdoch said.
MySpace and other Fox Interactive Web properties reported a 57 percent increase in revenue. The company noted that while operating profits increased five-fold on strength of advertising and search revenue growth at MySpace, operating income from Fox Interactive properties was down due to increased technical costs related to new Web site features and ventures.