Recently, global media company News Corp announced their first quarter results for fiscal 2016. The company has continued to surge forward, with income from continuing operations reaching $143 million compared to $109 million in the prior year. Reported EPS from continuing operations were $0.22 compared to $0.15 in the prior year.
“News Corp is on track in its transition to a more digital and global future, having successfully integrated several recent acquisitions and built a powerful platform for future growth,” says News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson. “We are focused on driving sustainable expansion of revenue and profit, and leveraging the potency of our brands, while diligently controlling costs to maximize long-term returns for all investors.”
Thomson noted particular enthusiasm over the momentum of realtor.com®, which he stated is significantly ahead of schedule on key metrics. “We are now, by some reckoning, the world’s largest digital property listings company and we see a particularly bright future in the sector, especially in the U.S. where we believe the national real estate market is still returning to health.”
The results of News Corp’s Digital Real Estate Service sector proved promising; Revenues in the quarter increased $79 million, or 71 percent, compared to the prior year, primarily driven by the inclusion of the results of Move, which was acquired in November 2014. In the first quarter, Move’s revenues increased 33 percent on a stand-alone basis to $85 million from $64 million in the prior year. Move saw continued strength in its Connection for Co-Brokerage product and non-listing Media revenues, coupled with market share gains for its Top Producer software product. Based on Move’s internal data, average monthly unique users of realtor.com® ’s web and mobile sites for the quarter grew 43 percent year-over-year to approximately 46 million, which was driven by 64 percent growth in mobile users.
For more of News Corp’s first quarter financial results, click here.
