Revenue Increases 6% For News Corp

News Corporation Thursday reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

Fiscal 2018 Third Quarter Key Financial Highlights

• Revenues of $2.10 billion, a 6% increase compared to $1.98 billion in the prior year, with growth in every segment
• Net loss was ($1.1) billion compared to nil in the prior year. The loss includes non-cash impairment charges and write-downs of $1.2 billion
• Total Segment EBITDA was $182 million compared to $215 million in the prior year
• Reported EPS were ($1.94) compared to ($0.01) in the prior year – Adjusted EPS were $0.06 compared to $0.07 in the prior year
• Digital Real Estate Services segment revenues grew 27%, benefiting from product innovation and improved yield at both REA Group and realtor.com®
• Digital revenues represented 29% of News and Information Services segment revenues, compared to 24% in the prior year, reflecting strong paid digital subscriber growth at mastheads
• Completed the transaction to combine Foxtel and FOX SPORTS Australia in April 2018, with the Company holding 65% of the combined company

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Robert Thomson said:

Robert Thompson

“We finished the fiscal third quarter with strong revenue growth, led by outstanding performances at our Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments. Revenues this quarter improved by 6 percent and are up 4 percent for the first nine months of this fiscal year.

We welcome Foxtel to our corporate family. We believe the company is uniquely positioned, given its potential in a rapidly expanding OTT market, with unrivaled sports offerings and premium entertainment and news content. From the fourth quarter, the combination of digital real estate services and pay-TV businesses will account for more than half of our profits and significantly increase recurring subscription-based revenues.

The third quarter once again highlighted the strength of our global digital real estate platform. The segment posted robust 27 percent growth in revenues, as both REA Group and realtor.com® benefited from product innovation and higher yields while becoming more holistic sites for home buyers and sellers.

At our mastheads, digital audience expanded at a time when premium news has become more important to readers and advertisers. The Wall Street Journal, The Times and Sunday Times, and The Australian reported average growth in digital subscriptions of more than 20 percent for the quarter, a testament to the success of their digital transformation."