FOX Fox Corporation

By Kimberly Chin 

21st Century Fox Inc.'s profit rose in the December quarter, fueled by strong performances in its cable network and filmed entertainment units and a one-time gain related to its sales of shares in Europe's Sky Plc.

The media company earned $10.82 billion, or $5.80 a share, up from $1.83 billion, or 99 cents a share, a year earlier. The recent quarter's profit included a per-share boost of $5.62 related to the sale of the rest of its stake in Sky to Comcast Corp.

Adjusted earnings per share were 37 cents, down from 42 cents a year ago but ahead of the 32 cents estimated by analysts polled by FactSet.

21st Century Fox is in the midst of a major overhaul, as it sells a large portion of its entertainment assets, including its Hollywood studio and international properties, to Walt Disney Co. for $71 billion and the rest of its stake in European content and distribution giant Sky. The company said on Wednesday that it has made significant progress regarding the transaction and expected spinoff.

The company's cable business, which includes Fox News and Fox Sports 1, booked a $4.45 billion in revenue, up about 7% from a year ago. Analysts expected the company's largest business would generate $4.41 billion in revenue. There were some concerns that boycotts from some advertisers over controversial statements by Fox News personalities would have an effect on results.

The company also reported higher affiliate and advertising revenue in the cable unit. Operating income in the division rose 6.5%.

Film-unit sales fell roughly 4%, but operating income in the segment was up 47%, in part due to lower theatrical release costs.

In the U.S., advertising revenue in television rose by 15%, largely due to higher advertising for sports at the Fox Broadcast Network. However the TV unit reported an operating loss due to higher expenses associated with increased spending on rights to air Thursday Night Football games. Still, sales from its television unit rose 19%.

Overall revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 increased about 6% to $8.49 billion.

The company traded slightly higher in premarket trading at $49.04 a share. The stock has risen 34% in the past 12 months.

When Disney completes its acquisition of the Fox entertainment assets, the "New Fox" company will revolve around live programming, especially news, on channels such as Fox News, and sports on the FS1 Network.

21st Century Fox shares common ownership with News Corp, parent company of The Wall Street Journal.

Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2019 10:58 ET (15:58 GMT)

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