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21st Century Fox profits drop 12%

February 7, 2014

american-idol21st Century Fox saw Q2 profit drop 12 per cent, largely as a result of flops at the box office and dwindling ratings on the Fox TV network.

Weakness at film studio 20th Century Fox has put a drag on the company’s bottom line. For the quarter ending December 31st, the media company produced profit of $1.21 billion, down from $2.38 billion a year earlier. Fox’s “American Idol” is pulling in much softer ratings resulting in lower ad sales, which has led to Fox executives warning Wall Street that its full-year earnings would not be as robust as initially thought.

The large drop in profit primarily was the result of an accounting change. In the previous second quarter, publishing operations were part of the company and contributed $1.3 billion in income. At the end of June, Rupert Murdoch divided his corporate empire into two companies, and the publishing businesses now make up a slimmed-down News Corp.

When comparing the same assets, Fox’s profit declined 12 per cent.

On the bright side: Fox revenue was up 15 per cent to $8.16 billion.

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