Fox posts strong earnings before sale to Disney
Cable and films help it beat expectations in fiscal fourth quarter.
As it prepares for Walt Disney Co. to close the deal to acquire most of its assets, 21st Century Fox finished its fiscal year on a strong note, beating expectations for its fourth quarter with robust performances across its business segments, including cable programming and the 20th Century Fox movie studio.
Fox on Wednesday reported adjusted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 57 cents a share, beating the estimate of 53 cents based on analysts polled by FactSet. The earnings represented a large jump from the year-earlier quarter, when Fox reported earnings of 36 cents a share.
Revenue for the quarter was $7.94 billion, an 18% increase from the $6.75 billion reported in the prior year’s fourth quarter. Analysts had estimated revenue of $7.56 billion for the period.
Shares of Fox were mixed in after-hours trading Wednesday. Before the earn- ings were posted, the stock closed down for the day less than a tenth of a percent at $45.46.
Fox’s filmed entertainment division swung to an operating profit of $289 million during the quarter, thanks in part to titles such as “Deadpool 2” and the Oscar-winning “The Shape of Water,” which was from Fox Searchlight — contrasted with a loss of $22 million a year earlier.
The cable network programming division also posted gains at top-rated Fox News, and the company’s sports channels continued to perform well. The division reported operating income of $1.61 billion for the quarter, up from $1.44 billion in the year-earlier period.
Disney is in the process of acquiring most of Fox’s entertainment assets in a $71.3-billion deal. Fox shareholders ratified the acquisition during a meeting in July.
The slimmed-down Fox will consist of Fox News, the Fox Business Channel, several sports cable channels, as well as the Fox broadcast network.