Twenty-First Century Fox Sags as Profits Drop

Company chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said:

We remain confident that these investments, together with our demonstrated ability to consistently grow our revenues, will drive 21st Century Foxs future profits and cash flow toward our targets and even better position the Company to benefit from the increasing global demand for premium content and channels.

Revenues rose in every segment, but only the company’s cable network division was able to post operating income growth of a scant 2.3%. The company’s television segment saw operating income fall by 11%, filmed entertainment income fell about 20% and direct broadcast satellite TV income fell about 45%.

Television revenue grew 6% year-over-year on higher retransmission fees, but the increase was more than offset by higher expenses for “new scripted programming” and higher costs for sports programming. In the filmed entertainment group, revenues rose 7%m but the company was not able to match last year’s income due to less successful theatrical releases during the quarter.

Since its separation from News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWSA) last July, Twenty-First Century Fox’s shares are up less than 8%. News Corp. reports quarterly results after markets close Thursday, and the company is expected to post EPS of $0.20 on revenues of $2.23 billion.

Twenty-First Century Fox shares traded down about 1.3% shortly after the opening bell, at $31.31. The stock’s 52-week range is $26.99 to $35.75. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $38.80 before this earnings report.