News Corp Reports $642 Million Profit
News Corp’s second quarter 2010 income was $642 million, up $388 million from the year before, because cable TV is profitable, the company said yesterday.
Operating income at News Corp’s cable division were up 22 percent to $735 million. Publishing income was $380 million, which looks like a stark improvement over Q2 2009’s $90 million loss, except that in the second quarter of 2009, the publishing division was hit with a $500 million settlement. Which is to say that publishing income declined 8 percent over the year.
That’s because of HarperCollins making less money as well as less money coming in from the Dow Jones Index, which were more than enough to offset increased ad revenue in all three of News Corp’s major newspaper markets.
In related news, WSJ publisher Les Hinton sent a memo to staff today saying that ad revenue at the WSJ increased for the fifth straight quarter. “Thanks to everyone for a successful quarter. These results show what a great company and great colleagues are capable of,” he said in the memo.
