A day after announcing a blockbuster $900 million advertising and search deal with Google, media giant News Corp. yesterday reported a surge in quarterly and full-year earnings.
News Corp., which owns Fox News, the 20th Century Fox movie studio, social networking site MySpace and a controlling stake in DirecTV, reported operating income of $1 billion for the fourth quarter, up 8 percent from a year ago.
Quarterly revenue was $6.8 billion, up from $6.1 billion in the year-ago period. For the full year News Corp., which also owns The Post, said operating income grew 9 percent to $3.9 billion. Revenue was $25.3 billion, up 6 percent from last year’s $23.9 billion.
“We generated our fourth consecutive year of record operating profits with increases at nearly every one of our diverse segments,” News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch said in a statement. “At the same time, we leveraged our strong balance sheet by investing in businesses uniquely positioned in the expanding digital world.”
News Corp. reported Monday that it had reached a deal in which Google will power Internet searches at MySpace.
The company’s movie unit had a blockbuster quarter, reporting an 83 percent gain in operating income to $200 million – mainly on the back of the success of the film “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” which has grossed more than $640 million.
The cable network business also was a standout, posting fourth quarter operating income of $194 million, up 42 percent from a year ago. Included in this segment was a 15 percent operating income jump at Fox News.