News Corp’s 3Q Profit Drops on Lower Ad Sales

News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) reported a sharp decline in its third-quarter profit amid lower advertising revenue.

News Corp. said Thursday its earnings slipped to $48 million, or eight cents a share, compared to $323 million, or 56 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, per-share earnings fell two cents to 11 cents.

The year-ago quarter included a favorable gain tied to News Corp.’s sale of its stake in New Zealand’s Sky Network.

Revenue dropped 5% to $2.08 billion. News Corp. said strength in book publishing partially offset negative impacts from foreign currency fluctuations, the sale of Dow Jones Local Media Group and weaker newspaper ad sales.

Analysts were looking for per-share earnings of 3 cents on revenue of $2.06 billion.

The New York-based company also appointed William Lewis as chief executive of Dow Jones. Lewis was named interim CEO in January.

In June, News Corp. split from its television and film assets, which now fall under 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA). News Corp. owns publishing assets such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and HarperCollins.

21st Century Fox operates the film studio and television properties, including FOX Business and FOX News. On Wednesday, 21st Century Fox beat earnings projections on a 12% increase in revenue.

Shares of News Corp. were inactive in after-hours trading. The stock closed Thursday at $17.11, up three cents.