News Corp relies on digital real estate business to bolster revenues as news division faces challenges over print advertising
Media group News Corp has reported revenue of $2.16bn (£1.48bn) for the three months to 31 December, down from $2.26bn in the same period of 2014.
Earnings per share also dropped, to $0.20 compared with $0.30 a year earlier.
The company, which owns News UK, Dow Jones, the New York Post and Harper Collins Publishers, among others, increased revenue by 35 per cent in its digital real estate services division, up to $208m. News Corp boss Robert Thomson said the firm is "by most measures, the world's largest player in digital real estate, a position certainly enhanced by the rapid growth in the U.S. of realtor.com".
However, all other segments – news and information services, book publishing and cable network programming – saw a decline in revenue.
"In our news and information services segment, print advertising remained challenged, but we are seeing growth in digital advertising and circulation revenues," said Thomson. "We are particularly focused on cost reductions and sharing services around News Corp to streamline operations at the newspapers in Australia and the UK.
Macro-economic conditions in most of our markets have not been auspicious, and foreign exchange fluctuations have been particularly volatile, but we believe in the enduring value of our prestigious brands and the sound logic of our digital strategy.
News Corp was founded by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who recently announced his engagement to model and actress Jerry Hall.