News Corp. Results Fall, Fox Television Unit Weak

Baldwin Louie — Thu, 16 Aug 2001 15:00:00 -0700

NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.
Ltd. <NCP.AX> <NWS.N> on Thursday reported lower quarterly
results on a weaker performance at its Fox television unit,
reflecting the advertising slump affecting most media
companies.

The company, which owns the Fox Television Network, 20th
Century Fox film studios, a host of cable networks and
newspapers, reported a profit of $145 million, or 12 cents per
American depositary receipt (ADR), excluding one-time items,
for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30. In the same period
a year earlier it earned $184 million, or 18 cents per ADR.

The Wall Street consensus earnings forecast was 11 cents
per ADR, with a range of 10 to 13 cents, according to Thomson
Financial/First Call.

News Corp., which is negotiating to gain control of General
Motors Corp.'s <GM.N> Hughes Electronics Corp. <GMH.N>
satellite television unit, saw its operating revenues fall 11.6
percent, to $3.44 billion from $3.9 billion.

Including one-time items, such as write-downs of the value
of several investments and a gain from the sale of its
investment in the Golf Channel, News Corp. reported a loss of
$265 million, or 26 cents per ADR. A year earlier it had a
profit of $71 million, or 6 cents a share.

The company's full-year operating income, excluding
earnings from its associated entities, interest and dividends,
was $1.67 billion, at the low end of its forecast range of
$1.65 billion to $1.7 billion.

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News Corp. Results Fall, Fox Television Unit Weak