News Corp racks up $149m third quarter loss on back of revenue slide
News Corp has endured a dismal set of third quarter results after it posted a loss of $149m for the period after being hit by a 7.3 per cent fall in revenue.
The publishing giant slipped into the red after suffering a near double digit fall in ad revenue of 9.7 per cent and a 3.6 per cent fall in subscription income. If that wasn’t bad enough News Corp also weathered a $280m cost to its pre-tax income arising from a lawsuit.
Chief executive, Robert Thomson, said: “The company is on track to see improvements in the fourth quarter, with the expansion of our digital real estate business, foreign currency comparisons hopefully beginning to ease, and cost-saving initiatives taking firmer root.”
Compounding the run of bad news from the sector Fairfax Media also endured a less than stellar trading period with revenues in the first 17 weeks of the second half down by between 2 and 3 per cent.