Fresh off a blockbuster Super Bowl and through-the-roof ratings at Fox News Channel, Twenty-First Century Fox boosted profits by 27 percent in the December quarter, the media company said Monday.
Strong advertising and affiliate revenue in TV operations and huge interest in baseball’s World Series helped drive the positive performance, the company said in a late afternoon statement.
The fiscal second-quarter results saw income from continuing operations at $857 million. Revenue rose 4 percent to $7.68 billion — but fell just shy of analysts’ expectations of $7.72 billion.
Fox shares were flat in after-hours trading, at $30.72.
Adjusted earnings per share gained 20 percent from last year, to 53 cents, beating estimates of 49 cents.
Overall cable revenue grew 7 percent thanks to big ratings at FNC and Fox Business.
In December, the company announced an agreement to acquire the remaining 61 percent of British satellite pay-TV provider Sky. The acquisition of the balance of the firm is expected to close by Dec. 31.
“We delivered a second consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth, driven by solid increases in affiliate and advertising revenue across cable and television,” Executive Chairmen Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement.
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