NEW YORK (AFP) - Media-entertainment giant News Corp. said Monday its quarterly profit edged higher to 832 million dollars as robust gains in television operations offset softer results from Hollywood films.
The report for the quarter to December 31 for the New York-based conglomerate headed by Rupert Murdoch partly included results from its acquisition of the Wall Street Journal and the newspaper's parent Dow Jones & Co. on December 13 for some 5.6 billion dollars.
The profit for the company's second fiscal quarter was up 1.2 percent from a year ago and in line with most analysts' forecasts at 27 cents per share.
Revenues increased 9.5 percent for the period to 8.59 billion dollars, slightly ahead of expectations.
"We are obviously proud of the results we delivered during the second quarter, the highest operating income quarter in our history, but most important is the balanced nature of our earnings momentum with double-digit growth at nearly every operating segment," the Australian-born Murdoch said in a statement.
"Our unrelenting focus on exploring new opportunities as consumer choice evolves and developing market leadership positions regardless of borders has enabled us to deliver consistently strong financial results irrespective of individual market conditions."
The company's filmed entertainment unit reported a drop in operating profit to 402 million dollars from 470 million a year earlier, hurt in part by the timing of some television program releases, offsetting a positive impact from films including "Juno" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks."
In television, profits rose sharply to 245 million dollars, led by growth at the Fox television network. Cable network programming delivered a 23 percent rise in profit to 337 million dollars, helped by the Fox News Channel.
In newspapers and information services, which includes the Wall Street Journal, operating profits increased 15 percent to 196 million dollars, News Corp. said.
Speaking in an interview on his Fox network, Murdoch said he does not believe his industry is being hurt by what some see as an economic slowdown led by the United States.
Asked whether he sees a recession coming, Murdoch said, "No, I don't. The whole world right now is doing so well."
Questioned about the impact of the US housing slump, he said, "I can only speak for the media world and we're not feeling it."
News Corporation is the umbrella company for an empire that also includes the Fox News Channel, the recently launched Fox Business Network, the New York Post newspaper, the Fox Hollywood film studios and television network and the rapidly growing Internet social networking site MySpace.
Other holdings include The Australian newspaper, London-based satellite TV company BSkyB and the US-based book publishing giant HarperCollins.
Murdoch became a US citizen in the 1980s and reincorporated the former Australian firm as a US company in 2004.
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