News Corp results rocket despite hacking expenses
NEWS Corp forked out $104m (£65.8m) in the second half of 2012 due to phone-hacking investigations, of which 15 per cent was paid out to victims with the remainder related to lawyer and adviser fees.
The Murdoch-controlled company grew revenues two per cent to $8.98bn in the second fiscal quarter, with profits up 65 per cent to $1.06bn.
News Corp’s film unit, which includes 20th Century Fox productions, more than doubled its profits to $393m, largely spurred by Oscar-nominated movie The Descendants.
The media conglomerate’s cable network grew 20 per cent in the quarter to $882m, but profits from its publishing unit dropped 43 per cent to $218m due to lower advertising sales and ongoing repercussions of the July closure of The News of the World.
News Corp subsidiary News Group Newspapers settled claims from a further 19 phone-hacking victims yesterday, dishing out £40,000 to Steve Coogan, £45,000 to Simon Hughes MP and £68,000 to Paul Gascoigne.