News Corp Posts Strong Q1 Results

(Reuters) – News Corp beat estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, driven by growth in its digital real estate services, book publishing, and Dow Jones segments.

The company also announced that Susan Panuccio will depart from her role as finance chief and will be replaced by Lavanya Chandrashekar early next year.

Chandrashekar, 52, has recently served as chief financial officer at beverage company Diageo (LON:DGE) and previously held senior finance positions at Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Mondelēz International.

Panuccio will continue as a senior adviser until June.

The company's Dow Jones segment, which provides news and business information—including the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, and Investor's Business Daily—experienced a surge in content licensing and digital subscriptions in the first quarter.

This segment, accounting for the largest share of revenue, grew 3% to $552 million on a robust professional information business. However, advertising revenue slipped 7%, primarily due to reduced ad spending in the technology and finance sectors.

News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) generated revenue of $2.58 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, surpassing the estimate of $2.57 billion as per data compiled by LSEG.

Property listing firm REA Group, 62% owned by News Corp, saw a 22% rise in revenue to $54 million, as residential demand stays strong in Australia due to price hikes.

Revenue from its book publishing unit, including HarperCollins, increased by 4%—driven by higher sales of physical and digital books.

The company stated that it continues to evaluate strategic and financial options for its Australian cable TV and streaming unit, Foxtel, in response to third-party interest, though no specific details were provided.

News Corp's adjusted profit per share was 21 cents, beating estimates of 16 cents.