New WSJ parent lost money; Thomson to be paid $2 million

The News Corp. spinoff that will be the parent of The Wall Street Journal lost money in the most recent quarter, and its CEO, current Journal managing editor Robert Thomson, will be paid $2 million, reports The Journal.

John Jannarone of The Journal writes, “In the first quarter of fiscal 2013, the publishing company, which will retain the News Corp. name, would have had a net loss of $92 million compared with a net profit of $38 million a year earlier. That was also largely because of a restructuring charge. But its results were also hurt by legal fees related to the phone-hacking scandal in its U.K. newspaper division and development costs in its education division.

“In the quarter, Ebitda at the news and information-services division fell 34% to $126 million from a year earlier. The decline was mainly the result of lower advertising revenue at the company’s Australian newspapers.

“The book-publishing division, which includes HarperCollins, saw Ebitda rise to $40 million in the quarter through September from $31 million a year earlier.

“The publishing company’s new chief executive, Robert Thomson, who is now The Wall Street Journal’s managing editor, will earn a salary of $2 million and a performance-based bonus with a $2 million target, the filing showed.”

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