Murdoch Says News Corp Remains Strong

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch expressed his confidence that News Corporation remains strong.

In its annual general meeting, Murdoch admitted that the company had to endure a very difficult period in its history.  News Corp was severely criticized for the UK phone-hacking scandal. The backlash resulted to News Corp splitting its operations.

Murdoch, however, said that the market appears to like what News Corp is currently doing. He said the numbers are proof that the company is in good standing.

The media mogul also said that he believes the company can complete buyback from its shareholders. It has about $4.51 billion of the $9.8 billion fund pool.

This is the second straight year that Murdoch is facing his shareholders. As chairman and chief executive officer, he was joined by his two sons, Lachlan and James. The shareholder meeting was also webcast in the NewsCorp site.

The Murdoch family owns about 40 percent of NewsCorp. Since the phone-hacking scandal, the father-and-sons team has been hounded by speculations, protests and rumors. This is the first time in months that the media mogul faced his shareholders with some piece of good news.

Murdoch also said that since the last shareholder meeting in 2011, company stock price increased by about 45 percent. NewsCorp also earned a US$1.2 billion profit from the year to June 30.