News Corp. Slowed Down by Australia Operations

News Corporation’s Australian newspapers continue to suffer from poor advertising placements and this has dampened the high spirits of the company.

News Corp. just announced that its net profit increased despite weak sales from its Australian newspapers like the Herald Sun and The Australian.

Chase Carey, chief operating officer of News Corp., said its pay-TV Sky Italia is also feeling the pinch as more readers and viewers prefer to go online.

The publishing unit of News Corp. has reported first-quarter earnings of some US$57 million or $54.7 million. The figure is about 48 percent lower compared to the last period.

News Corp.’s overall first-quarter posted a net profit of US$2.23 billion from June to September 30. The figure is three times more than what the company posted the previous year at US$738 million.

According to data, News Corp.’s net profit was boosted by the sale of its software company NDS. The sale was completed in July for about US$1.4 billion. Company share also increased 3.2 percent to reach $24.10.

Carey said that while Australian publishing business is down, the company has major plans to address this.

Just last June, News Corp. announced job cuts that would consolidate its newsroom operations. 19 divisions from its Australia’s east coast operations would be consolidated into just five over the next 24 months.