News Corp., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, reported third-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat expectations while revenue came in higher than expectations.
The New York-based company reported a loss of $1.13 billion, or $1.94 per share, compared with a loss of $5 million, or 1 cent per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The loss was primarily due to write downs in the values of Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia.
Adjusted for the write downs, earnings were 6 cents per share, in line with estimates.
Total revenue grew 6 percent to $2.1 billion in the quarter, above expectations of $1.99 billion in revenue.
Revenue in the news and information services division, which includes The Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch.com, rose 2 percent to $1.29 billion in the quarter.
Dow Jones & Co. revenue grew by 4 percent in the quarter. Digital now accounts for 52 percent of all Dow Jones circulation revenue.
Advertising revenues in the quarter declined 3 percent compared to the prior year. The decline was driven by weakness in the print advertising market, mainly in Australia and the U.S., lower revenues at News America marketing and the decision to cease The Wall Street Journal’s international print editions in the second quarter of fiscal 2018.
Circulation and subscription revenues increased 7 percent in the quarter, primarily due to a healthy contribution from Dow Jones, which again saw a 10 percent increase in its circulation revenues, reflecting digital subscriber growth at The Journal.
The Journal average daily digital subscribers in the three months ended March 31 were 1.49 million, compared to 1.2 million in the prior year.
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