Profit Soars at News Corp.

NEW YORK: For the quarter ended September 30, net profit at News Corporation came in at $2.23 billion, compared to the year-ago figure of $738 million.

Total segment operating income for the first quarter was $1.38 billion, compared to the $1.39 billion reported a year ago. Operating income improved at its cable network programming division, TV and filmed entertainment segments. The cable network programming segment alone contributed an additional $178 million, or 23 percent, at $953 million. Filmed entertainment brought in $400 million, compared to the prior year’s $347 million. TV was up from $133 million to $156 million. These improvements were offset by the decrease at the direct broadcast satellite television, publishing and other segments.

The company incurred $67 million in costs related to the phone-hacking scandal. Another $5 million in costs was recorded for its proposed separation of its publishing and entertainment business.

Rupert Murdoch, the chairman and CEO, said: “Our operational discipline and focus on innovation continued to drive the company’s momentum in our fiscal first quarter, led by double-digit growth in our channels business and the global success of our film and television content. Even against considerable currency headwinds due to a stronger dollar, we were able to increase News Corp’s revenue and adjusted segment operating profit over the prior year quarter while continuing to make key investments to position us for future growth.

“We are committed to leading the change that the marketplace and our customers demand as the company builds on its success at leveraging multiplatform opportunities for our content. We believe that our ability to do so will be enhanced by the flexibility and management focus that will result from the proposed separation of our entertainment and publishing businesses. We have made considerable progress in this process and look forward to providing more details by the end of the calendar year.”