News Corp reported what it described as “outstanding” full year results, with revenue up 2% to $US10.09 billion.
The June quarter revenue came in better than expected, up 6% higher at $2.58 billion, driven by higher Australian residential revenues at REA Group, higher physical and digital book sales and continued growth in the professional information business at Dow Jones.
The increase was partly offset by lower advertising and circulation and subscription revenue at the News Media segment as well as a $15 million, or 1%, negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations.
“Fiscal 2024 was an outstanding year for News Corp, as we not only delivered robust earnings growth and created substantial shareholder value, but took a significant step to prepare the company to prosper in the AI age,” said CEO Robert Thomson .
“Our landmark agreement with OpenAI is not only expected to be lucrative, but will enable us to work closely with a trusted, pre-eminent partner to fashion a future for professional journalism and for provenance.
“Meanwhile, we have begun to take legal steps against AI aggressors, the egregious aggregators, who are predatory in the confiscation of our content. ‘Open source’ can never be a justification for ‘open slather.’
"For the quarter, revenues grew 6% to almost $2.6 billion, while net income improved significantly and profitability advanced by 11% to a fourth quarter record.
"Our core pillars of growth - Book Publishing, Digital Real Estate Services and Dow Jones - inspired the increasing profitability, and their strength augurs well for Fiscal 2025.
"We are confident in the company’s long-term prospects and are continuing to review our portfolio with a focus on maximising returns for shareholders.
"That review has coincided recently with third-party interest in a potential transaction involving the Foxtel Group, which has been positively transformed in recent years. We are evaluating options for the business with our advisors in light of that external interest."
In the June quarter, News Corp Australia revenue fell 5%, driven by lower circulation and subscription revenue, and included a $4 million, or 1%, negative impact from foreign currency fluctuation.
The expiration of the Meta content licensing deal also had an impact.
Digital subscribers at News Corp Australia at June30 were 1,117,000 (968,000 for news mastheads), compared to 1,059,000 (943,000 for news mastheads) last year.
For the full year, revenue at News Corp Australia fell 7%, driven by lower advertising and a $25 million, or 3%, negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations.
News Corp June quarter 2024 segment results:
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