News Corp Reports Slight Revenue Uptick

News Corp reported slightly higher revenue for the latest quarter, as growth at Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones and book publisher HarperCollins offset declines at its real-estate and video businesses.

The New York-based media company, which also owns news organizations in the U.K. and Australia, said revenue rose 0.8% to $2.5 billion, as only two of its five operating groups reported revenue gains.

The company earned $30 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with $40 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. News Corp attributed the decline in part to non-cash impairment charges of $21 million in the U.K.

Robert Thomson

News Corp’s Class A shares were up slightly in after-hours trading, to $21.37. Chief Executive Robert Thomson said the company’s stock price doesn’t reflect News Corp’s recent results.

“Our positive performance in the quarter follows the three most profitable years since the creation of the new News Corp,” Thomson said. “In our view, these results certainly highlight the disparity between the value of our company and our share price.”

The quarterly results come a few weeks after activist shareholder Starboard Value said it built a “sizeable” stake in News Corp and planned to push for strategic and governance changes.

The Journal averaged 3.457 million digital subscriptions for the period, an increase of 51,000 from the quarter ended June 30. Including the print edition, the Journal averaged 3.991 million subscriptions.

More on News Corp’s earnings:

• Adjusted earnings per share were 16 cents, compared with 12 cents for the year-earlier period and ahead of analyst expectations.
• Dow Jones, which beyond the Journal also publishes Barron’s and MarketWatch, posted 4.3% revenue growth and 10% profit growth.
• The company’s News Media division, which includes titles like the Times of London, the New York Post and various publications in Australia, posted lower revenue and profits, primarily due to an advertising decline.