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- Mass media company News Corp (NWS) has reported its best quarterly performance in seven years despite a 29 per cent plunge in news media revenue
- Owed to strong performances across almost all business segments, Rupert Murdoch’s multinational brought home $2.41 billion in revenue for the quarter ended December 31
- Streaming service subscriptions such as Kayo and Foxtel Now, advertising revenues and an avid reading population were some of the key drivers of the quarter
- News media revenues in the quarter plunged $238 million in comparison to the prior year following the closure of 125 newspapers across Australia and the divesture of News America Marketing
- News Corp shares have rocketed following the results, closing the day up 13.2 per cent at $28.41 cents each
Mass media company News Corp (NWS) has reported its most profitable quarter in seven years despite a 29 per cent plunge in news media revenue.
Redeemed by strong performances in its book publishing and video subscription segments, Rupert Murdoch’s multinational brought home $2.41 billion in revenue for the quarter ended December 31.
“The second quarter of fiscal 2021 was the most profitable quarter since the new News Corp was launched more than seven years ago, reflecting the ongoing digital transformation of the business,” News Corp’s Chief Executive Robert Thomson stated.
It marks a 3 per cent decline compared to the $2.48 billion made in the prior year, with adjusted revenues up two per cent.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was up across the board, most notably by 77 per cent for its video subscriptions segment.
A large portion of this can be attributed to the $35 million it saved in sports programming and production costs after a renegotiation of sports rights.
By the end of the period, Foxtel had roughly 3.3 million paying subscribers, representing a 12 per cent increase on the previous year.
Roughly a third of those subscribers were utilising News streaming services, including debutant Binge, sports service Kayo and Foxtel Now.
Revenue for its book publishing faction increased 23 percent on the prior year, thanks to a myriad of best-sellers and a consumer- base with more time for reading over the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Intriguingly, EBITDA was up 43 per cent for Wall Street Journal publishing company Dow Jones, which NWS attributed primarily to an 8 per cent spurt in subscription and digital advertising revenues.
Digital Real Estate Services segment was also a success over the festive period, with realtor.com operator Move reporting 28 per cent revenue growth and revenues at REA Group increasing 6 per cent as relaxed COVID-19 restrictions spurred Australian residential listings.
The story for its news media segment, however, was not quite as pretty.
Revenues in the quarter plunged $238 million, or 29 per cent in comparison to the prior year, following its $191 million divestiture of News America Marketing and the closure of 125 regional and community newspapers across Australia.
Within the segment, revenues at News Corp Australia and News UK declined 11 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
News Corp shares have rocketed following the results, closing the day up 13.2 per cent at $28.41 cents each.
