News Corp. Profit Down in Q1

NEW YORK: Net income fell 4.8 percent at News Corporation in the first quarter to $738 million on revenues that were up 7 percent from the year-ago period to $7.96 billion.

News Corp.’s strong sales performance was led by double-digit percentage affiliate revenue growth at the company’s cable network programming and television segments and double-digit revenue growth at the filmed entertainment unit. The cable network programming segment had a first-quarter segment operating income of $775 million, up 18 percent on the 2010 period. The filmed entertainment unit reported an operating income of $347 million, a 24-percent gain, driven by the theatrical performance of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and home-entertainment releases of Rio and X-Men: First Class. The television segment posted an operating income that was up 27 percent to $133 million. SKY Italia reported operating income of $119 million, a 45-percent spike.

The results include $130 million of pre-tax charges, including a fee related to the company’s withdrawal of its BSkyB bid in July. News Corp. also had a $91 million pre-tax restructuring charge related to its U.K. newspaper business.

Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.’s chairman and CEO, said: “The exceptional strength of our financial results during the first quarter across the majority of our segments is confirmation that News Corporation’s core operations are strong and that we are on course to achieve our strategic and financial objectives.

“While we continue to remain mindful of the persistent economic uncertainty in many parts of the globe, I am proud of News Corporation’s achievements over the past quarters. We have leveraged our strong assets and solid management team to successfully navigate these unpredictable times. Coupled with our long-term view, I have every confidence that we will build upon these results in the coming quarters and continue to provide consistent stockholder value.”