Profits at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation have dropped by 75 per cent, it was revealed this week.
The US-listed media conglomerate – which owns mastheads in the US, UK and Australia – took $187 million net profit for the financial year, down from the previous year’s $760 million.
The result was weighed down by lower print and digital advertising at News Corp Australia, a division that includes flagship newspaper, The Australian. It also recorded lower print advertising at its UK news arm.
The volatile trading period, marked by high inflation, proved difficult for News Corp, which owns Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones and runs book publisher Harper Collins.
Its newspaper stable also includes The Sun and The Times in London, and the New York Post.
“Our results showed marked improvement in the second half, so with inflation abating, interest rates plateauing and incipient signs of stability in the housing market, we have sound reasons for optimism about the coming quarters,” News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said.
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