News Corp posted revenue of $US2.41 billion, down 3% on the same three months a year ago but ahead of analyst expectations.
The media company posted record digital advertising revenue and continued growth in digital subscriptions.
“The second quarter of fiscal 2021 was the most profitable quarter since the new News Corp was launched more than seven years ago, reflecting the ongoing digital transformation of the business,” says CEO Robert Thomson.
“We reported the largest profits for Dow Jones since the acquisition of the company in 2007, with Segment EBITDA increasing 43% and traffic across the Dow Jones digital network surging 48%.”
The 3% revenue fall was mainly due to lower revenues at the News Media segment, driven by the sale of News America Marketing and weakness in the print advertising market.
There was also a $34 million, or 1%, negative impact from the closure or transition to digital of some regional and community newspapers in Australia.
The decline was partially offset by growth in the Book Publishing, Digital Real Estate Services and Dow Jones, as well as a $75 million, or 3%, positive impact from foreign currency fluctuations.
Net income for the quarter was $US261 million compared to $US103 million in the prior year.
Digital revenue represented 31% of the News Media segment in the quarter, compared to 22% in the prior year, and represented 29% of the combined revenues of the newspaper mastheads.
Closing digital subscribers at News Corp Australia’s mastheads as of the end of December were 738,300 compared to 566,600 in the prior yea.
COVID-19 continues to exacerbate print advertising weakness and negatively impact weekday print volumes due to increased economic uncertainty and lower demand for single copy and amenity newspapers driven by decreased foot traffic.
News Corp says the latest national lockdown in the UK, the continuation of remote working in the US and, to a lesser extent, the current domestic travel restrictions in Australia are expected to continue to negatively impact these revenue streams in the second half of the fiscal year.
However, the company has seen increases in digital paid subscriptions and digital audience gains at online versions of many of its news properties.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.