News Corp. posts higher earnings, revenue

NEW YORK Media conglomerate News Corp. (NWS) says earnings for the last three months of 2012 grew, helped by higher revenue at its pay TV networks and gains from larger stakes in businesses abroad.

The company, which is controlled by CEO Rupert Murdoch, said Wednesday that it earned $2.38 billion, or $1.01 per share, in the fiscal second quarter. That's up from $1.06 billion, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier.

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Earnings got a one-time, $1.4 billion boost due to the company taking a bigger stake in Fox Sports Australia and Fox Star Sports Asia. It also posted a $131 million gain from participating in a stock buyback program at British Sky Broadcasting, which News Corp. has a 39 percent stake in. The one-time gains were offset by restructuring charges of $65 million related to newspapers abroad.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings came to 44 cents per share, beating the 43 cents per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue was $9.43 billion, up 5 percent from $8.98 billion. The company says its cable network business helped grow revenue.

Analysts were looking for revenue of $9.26 billion.

News Corp. is planning to split into two companies this year - one for publishing and the other for the TV and movie businesses.

Shares of the highly traded Class A shares rose 38 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $28.60 in after-hours trading, a new 52-week high.