News Ltd Posts Loss

News Ltd has announced that it registered a $476.7 million loss for the current financial year that ended June 30. The media company said its revenue dipped by some 11 percent in the wake of another major write-down.

In the documents filed by News Ltd with the Australian Securities & Investments Comission, company revenue dropped to about $2.6 billion. Its operating income decreased to $493.6 million (or some 23.5 percent). News Ltd said the drop is because of decline in the advertising revenues, which was affected by negative consumer sentiment.

The documents also showed that the company listed $731.7 million in impairment charges. This added to a total of more $1.4 billion in the last two financial years. News Ltd said the impairment charge is connected with its publishing titles and mastheads.

Other documents also reflected the payment of $29.8 million made by News Ltd for Australian Independent Business Media.

The last two years have been particularly challenging for News Ltd with profits falling the last two financial years.

Its staffing levels also dropped 3.1 percent. The company announced job cuts at the beginning of the year, which saw restructuring of several divisions.