Home » News Corp Posts $64.5M Q3 Profit Despite Sharp Decline In Print Advertising

6 November, 2020

News Corp Posts $64.5M Q3 Profit Despite Sharp Decline In Print Advertising

News Corp has announced the media company posted a Q3 profit to the end of September of $US47 million ($A$64.5 million) thanks namely to an uplift in its real estate businesses.

News Corp, which owns mastheads The Australian and The Daily Telegraph here in Australia and international titles The Times and The New York Post, booked revenue of $US2.12 billion ($2.9 billion) for the quarter ending September 30, which was down from $US2.34 billion from the previous year.

The 10 per cent contraction in revenue for the quarter was due to the sale of News America Marketing, with the adjusted decline being three per cent and weakness in News’ print advertising.

News Corp also took a hit from subscribers to its subscription television services such as Foxtel, Kayo Sports and recently launched entertainment streaming service Binge, with revenue from subscribers falling by $US18 million to $US496 million.

News is reporting that Kayo now has 681,000 subscribers (644,000 paid) while Binge has 321,000 users (290,000 paid).

The company’s total earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew by 21 per cent to $US268 million due to growth in digital real estate services such as REA Group and Move and the success of the company’s book publishing division.

News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson commneted: “News Corp has started the fiscal year strongly, with higher revenue in many of our segments during the first quarter, and a 21 per cent increase year-on-year in profitability, despite the disruptive economic consequences of COVID-19.

“It is clear that the digital landscape is changing fundamentally, and the company has been an important catalyst for that change. The principle of a premium for premium content is now recognised, and there will inevitably be further developments in algorithmic transparency and the digital advertising market, two areas in which News Corp has been a leading advocate.

“The principle of a premium for premium content is now recognised, and there will inevitably be further developments in algorithmic transparency and the digital advertising market, two areas in which News Corp has been a leading advocate.

“We are continuing our drive to be a more focused, more digital company and we believe the positive results of that strategy are already clear. Our aim is to generate enhanced returns for our investors in the months, quarters and years to come,” Thomson said.

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