News Corp beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, benefiting from its cost-cutting measures and a rise in digital subscriptions for its Dow Jones news and data services.
The New York-based media giant — which owns The Post, the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones — said core earnings rose 8% to $341 million in the quarter due to cost cuts, including a 5% headcount reduction it had announced earlier this year.
Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted earnings per share totaled 14 cents,beating estimates of 8 cents, according to Refinitiv data.
Total revenue was down 9% at $2.43 billion in the quarter ended June 30 — weighed down by an 18.4% decrease in real estate revenue and an 11.9% drop in ad revenue in the quarter.
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said he is “optimistic” for improved results as economic headwinds in the second half of the year have eased drastically.
“News Corp’s Fiscal 2023 results highlighted the durability and depth of our revenue streams and the impact of stringent cost controls as we navigated challenging macro conditions, supply chain pressures and currency headwinds,” Thomson said.
“We achieved full year Fiscal 2023 revenues of $9.9 billion and profits of over $1.4 billion – the second highest profitability ever recorded by the company.”
Thomson called out the growth in digital, which accounted for over 50% of News Corp’s revenues for the full year, and touted the Dow Jones division, which posted its highest profitability for both the quarter and the full year since the company was acquired in 2007.
He said the overall bottom line showed “marked improvement in the second half,” noting that with “inflation abating, interest rates plateauing and incipient signs of stability in the housing market, we have sound reasons for optimism about the coming quarters.”
Looking ahead, the exec pointed to the emergence of artificial intelligence technology as a “remarkable opportunity” that could create new revenue streams for the company, while also cutting costs.
“We are already in active negotiations to establish a value for our unique content sets and IP [intellectual property] that will play a crucial role in the future of AI,” he added.
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