News Corp. Posts Q4 Profit - Update

(RTTNews) - News Corp. (NWS, NWSA), the company owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, Monday posted a profit for the fourth quarter compared to a loss last year, driven largely by a 5 percent growth in revenues.

The New York-based media company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $89 million or $0.15 per share, compared to a loss of $379 million or $0.65 per share last year. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $61 million or $0.10 per share.

Revenues for the quarter increased 5 percent to $2.23 billion from $2.12 billion last year.

Wall Street analysts expected earnings of $0.13 per share and revenues of $2.06 billion for the quarter.

Revenue at key news and information services segment, which includes Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, inched up 1 percent from a year ago to $1.42 billion. Among smaller segments, book publishing rose 11 percent; digital real estate jumped 21 percent, and cable network programming climbed 11 percent.

Chief Executive Robert Thomson said, "Over the past year, we made clear progress on our primary goals - to become more digital and more global."

News Corp separated itself in 2013 after Rupert Murdoch spun off its more profitable entertainment and TV assets into Twenty-First Century Fox (FOX, FOXA).

NWSA closed Monday's trading at $12.84, up $0.01 or 0.08%, on the Nasdaq.