21st Century Fox earnings jump to US$567m

THE Murdoch family-controlled conglomerate 21st Century Fox on Wednesday reported a sharp rise in quarterly profit to US$567 million (RM2.29 billion), lifted by higher broadcast and cable advertising revenues.
Revenues rose 7% from a year ago in the quarter to June 30 to US$6.6 billion for the group that includes the Fox Hollywood studios and an array of television operations.
Net profit for the quarter jumped sixfold from US$87 million a year ago.
"We delivered full-year revenue and earnings growth on the strength of gains in affiliate and advertising revenues despite considerable foreign exchange headwinds and difficult film comparisons," said a statement from co-executive chairman Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.
"The value created by our multiyear investment in our content production and our global video brands is clear."
The group closed out its fiscal year with profit of US$6.5 billion on revenues of US$15 billion.
Rupert Murdoch, 85, last year moved to step away from key management of his media-entertainment empire as he appointed his sons Lachlan and James to key posts.
But Rupert Murdoch returned to a more hands-on role when he returned as acting chief executive at Fox News after his longtime ally Roger Ailes quit after being hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit.
Despite the controversy at Fox, the company said the news channel "was the highest rated basic cable channel over the last 12 months and achieved its highest level of total day viewership in the network's history," the company said in a statement. — AFP