• Revenues of US$2.10 billion, a 6% increase compared to $1.98 billion in the prior year, with growth in every segment
• Digital revenues up 29% for news and information services segment compared to 24% in the prior year
• Thomson says Rupert Murdoch remains engaged across all businesses
News Corporation has reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
A conference call after the release of the results was hosted by Robert Thomson (pictured above) and chief financial officer Susan Panuccio.
Both the News Corp executives spoke about the recently completed Foxtel-Fox Sports merger with Thomson commenting on Foxtel’s compelling offering and the work being undertaken on an improved viewing experience.
Panuccio talked about investment being made on the next generation set-top box, which would replace the iQ3.
News Corp noted OTT delivery would be key to growth and that a new IP-only product is being developed for younger consumers.
One analyst asked about Rupert Murdoch and his current role in the business.
Thomson replied: “Rupert is very much engaged and across all businesses. His level of interest remains intense.”
Commenting on the results, Thomson said the company had reported its strongest growth in all sectors since the “new” News Corp was launched.
“We finished the fiscal third quarter with strong revenue growth, led by outstanding performances at our Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments. Revenues this quarter improved by 6% and are up 4% for the first nine months of this fiscal year.
“We welcome Foxtel to our corporate family. We believe the company is uniquely positioned, given its potential in a rapidly expanding OTT market, with unrivalled sports offerings and premium entertainment and news content. From the fourth quarter, the combination of digital real estate services and pay-TV businesses will account for more than half of our profits and significantly increase recurring subscription-based revenues.
“The third quarter once again highlighted the strength of our global digital real estate platform. The segment posted robust 27% growth in revenues, as both REA Group and realtor.com benefited from product innovation and higher yields while becoming more holistic sites for home buyers and sellers.
“At our mastheads, digital audience expanded at a time when premium news has become more important to readers and advertisers. The Wall Street Journal, The Times and Sunday Times, and The Australian reported average growth in digital subscriptions of more than 20% for the quarter, a testament to the success of their digital transformation.”