November 04, 2009
News Corp. 1Q profit posts surprising growth
The Associated PressMedia conglomerate News Corp. says its net income for the latest quarter grew despite analysts' expectations of a decline, thanks to strength at its cable networks and the box-office success of "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."
The company is facing multiple challenges, including an advertising downturn and the shift of readers to the Internet. Newspaper and TV station earnings fell but they were more than offsets by gains elsewhere.
The net income increase of 11 percent came to $571 million, or 22 cents per share, while revenue fell 4 percent to $7.2 billion, beating analyst forecasts.
Chief Executive and lead shareholder Rupert Murdoch called the results "exceptionally strong."