News Corp Reports Loss After MySpace Write-Down
August 18th, 2009 | by Jen |NEW YORK (AP) — Global media company News Corp. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net loss hit $203 million because of impairment charges at MySpace, while its operating profit for the year was slightly worse than it predicted due to the weak economy.
The net loss of 8 cents per share compares with a net profit of $1.1 billion, or 43 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The results included $680 million in impairment and operating charges, mainly at Fox Interactive Media, which houses MySpace.
News Corp. bought MySpace for $580 million in 2005, but reflecting the social networking site’s stalled growth, recently shuffled its leadership team, ousting co-founder Chris DeWolfe in favor of Owen Van Natta, a former executive at rival Facebook, which has surged past MySpace in overall users.
Adjusted operating income fell 30 percent to $948 million.
For the year, adjusted operating income fell 33 percent to $3.56 billion, slightly worse than the 30 percent drop the company forecast.
Revenue fell 11 percent to $7.67 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected revenue of $7.63 billion.
Shares closed down a penny at $10.58 before the earnings were announced Wednesday.
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