Fox posts lower quarterly profit on decline in advertising revenue

Affiliate revenues helped offset the impact of the pandemic

Fox Corp. reported lower profit for its latest quarter, hit by a fall in advertising revenue amid a pandemic-related pullback in live sporting events.

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FOXA FOX CORP. 31.21 -0.47 -1.48%

Fox said Tuesday revenue dropped 3.8% to $2.42 billion from a year earlier, hurt by advertising revenue which fell 7.6%. Affiliate revenues rose slightly due to contractual price increases, especially from distribution-agreement renewals, however, net subscribers declined. Revenue pulled slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion, according to FactSet.

Cable-network programming revenue fell 2.2% to $1.27 billion in the quarter, mainly as a result of lower advertising revenues from live sporting events. However, the company recorded higher advertising revenues at Fox News. Television revenue declined 6% from a year ago to $1.11 billion.

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Fox posted a profit of $122 million, or 20 cents a share, for the quarter ended June 30, down from $454 million, or 73 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding special items, earnings were 62 cents a share. Analysts projected adjusted earnings of 58 cents a share.

The company, whose businesses include Fox News, the Fox Broadcast Network, Fox Sports and local television stations, was spun off from 21st Century Fox and began trading as a separate public company in March of last year.

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NWS NEWS CORP. 24.96 +0.02 +0.08%

Fox is the parent of FOX Business and Fox News, while Fox and The Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.

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Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

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