Profits At Murdoch's News Corp. Jump 11 Percent

November 5, 2009 4:31 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - News Corp., the media giant with interests in newspapers, film and television, reported an 11 percent gain in first-quarter profit on Thursday.

The New York-based company said net income rose to $571 million, or 22 cents a share, from $515 million, or 20 cents, 12 months earlier. Analysts had expected 18 cents a share.

Revenue was $7.2 billon, a 4.1 percent decline.

The bulk of the earnings came from News Corp.'s film and video division. Profits for the Twentieth Century Fox film studios were up 56 percent to a record $391 million.

The Fox New cable channel increased operating income by 79 percent, the channel's highest-every quarterly profit. The cable division as a whole saw operating income grow 41 percent to $495 million.

Profits at the Fox TV stations and broadcast network fell 54 percent to $38 million. Income from newspaper and information services plummeted from $134 million to $25 million. The company owns the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, as well as two papers in the United Kingdom and three in Australia.

News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch said he planned to increase revenue by instituting fees on several of the company's venues, including for news on Web sites and retransmission fees from television providers that carry the Fox broadcast network.

In October, the company announced it would charge for electronic access to the Wall Street Journal from mobile devices and hike prices for a professional version of the Journal Web site.

News Corp. (NWSA) shares were up 3.2 percent on the Nasdaq at 2:41 p.m.