News Corp slides as revenues fall

NEW YORK - News Corporation shares fell 2.5% in New York today as it revealed a disappointing set of full-year results with revenues and operating profit down as the company's television, magazines and newspaper sectors suffered at the hands of the advertising slowdown.

Shares in the group fell to £35.80 (£24.80) in New York as it posted a fall in revenues to $13.8bn (£9.5bn) from $14.2bn (£9.8bn) last time, while operating profit slid to $1.67bn (£1.1bn) from $1.73bn (£1.2bn) a year ago.



For the fourth quarter, News Corp reported operating profit of $145m (£100.6m), compared with $185m (£128.4m) last time.



The company reported a consolidated operating loss of $4m (£2.8m) for filmed entertainment compared with a loss of $53m (£36.8m) in the fourth quarter a year ago.



Television operating income fell to $185m (£128.4m) for the fourth quarter from $241m (£167.2m) a year ago, while newspaper income fell to $121m (£83.9m) from $161m (£111.6m) last year.



The group's filmed entertainment business contributed to profits, as did its cable network programming and book publishing operations. Filmed entertainment made a loss of $271m (£187.8m), compared with $119m (£82.5m)last year.



The division was boosted by the success of feature film X-Men and strong video and DVD sales of Castaway.



However, this increase was offset by a $180m (£124.9m) fall in operating income to $536m (£371.5m) at the TV division. The newspaper segment saw operating income fall 11% to $488m (£338.2m) from last time.



News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch said, "We are extremely pleased with the achievements of our content businesses both during the fourth quarter and over the course of the year. Our film division and cable operations have been particularly successful, with a series of box office hits, the continued strength of our video and DVD sales and the triumph of Fox News Channel."



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