21st Century Fox Profit Tops Estimate

(RTTNews) - Twenty-First Century Fox (FOX, FOXA) Wednesday reported a better-than-expected profit for the second quarter, mainly on growth at filmed entertainment and cable network businesses, while the prior year was hurt by one-time losses.

CEO Rupert Murdoch said the media giant benefited from affiliate revenue at cable network business and box office successes such as X-Men: Days of Future Past, Rio 2 and The Fault In Our Stars.

"As we close the fiscal year, I continue to have confidence in our ability to execute our growth plan and drive value for our shareholders," said Murdoch.

The results come just a day after Fox withdrew its unsolicited bid to buy smaller rival Time Warner Inc (TWX) and concurrently announced a $6 billion share buyback program.

Fox's earnings had a sanguine impact on its stock which gained 4 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq. But shares of Time Warner took a beating despite the company having reported better-than-expected results earlier in the day.

21st Century, based in New York, posted quarterly net earnings of $999 million or $0.45 per share. This compares with a loss of $371 million or $0.16 per share last year, when it recorded $1.35 billion loss from discontinued operations.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.42 per share, compared with $0.31 per share in the prior year.

On average, 23 polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.38 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter climbed 17 percent to $8.42 billion from $7.21 billion a year ago. Twenty-two analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $7.99 billion.

Cable network programming revenue climbed 13 percent to $3.35 billion, and filmed entertainment revenue surged 38 percent to $2.80 billion. Direct broadcast satellite television revenue rose 16 percent to $1.59 billion, while television revenue edged down to $1.03 billion.

In June 2013, Twenty-First Century Fox split off from News Corp (NWSA, NWS) and went on to possess the media and entertainment assets including FOX, National Geographic Channels, STAR, as well as film studio Twentieth Century Fox Film.

Earlier today, Time Warner said its second-quarter net earnings rose to $850 million or $0.95 per share from $771 million or $0.81 per share last year, and adjusted earnings to $0.98 per share from $0.76 per share. Revenues climbed to $6.79 billion from $6.61 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $0.84 per share on revenues of $6.87 billion.

FOXA closed Wednesday at $32.33, up $1.03 or 3.29%, on a volume of 48 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock gained $1.37 or 4.24% at $33.70.

TWX closed at $74.24, down $10.95 or 12.85%, on a volume of 34.5 million shares on the NYSE. In after hours, the stock dropped $0.24 or 0.32%.