News Corp. Posts Loss On Charge

(RTTNews) - News Corp. (NWS) posted a loss for its fourth quarter, as a $370 million impairment charge weighed on results. The media giant also reported lower revenues, as it struggled against what it described as "an uneven economy, very tough currency headwinds and the ongoing transformation of the media landscape."

Still, stripping out its one-time items, News Corp. posted a better-than-expected adjusted profit for the quarter. Revenues likewise topped expectations.

The company reported a net loss for the quarter of $378 million, or $0.65 per share. This reversed a profit of $13 million, or $0.02 per share, posted in last year's fourth quarter.

Result included an impairment charge of $371 million, or $0.65 per share, related to its Amplify digital education unit, which it recently sold to members of its management team. Excluding one-time items, the firm's adjusted earnings climbed to $0.07 per share compared to $0.01 per share last year.

Analysts were looking for the company to make $0.06 per share, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenues for the period edged down to $2.14 billion, compared to $2.19 billion last year. The company saw lower revenue from advertising and subscriptions. This was partially offset by gains at its consumer business.

Even with the slide, the firm's revenue figure beat expectations. Wall Street was looking for News Corp. to post a top-line result of $2.09 billion.