News Corporation missed earnings forecasts for the first quarter of 2016, The Associated Press reports.
For the reporting period, the company posted adjusted earnings per share of 5 cents, short of the average estimate of 7 cents per share.
In revenue, the company also fell short of expectations, posting $2.01 billion, as opposed to the $2.11 billion estimate.
Overall, revenue fell 4.5 percent, marking the third straight quarter of declines, per Street Insider. The most recent quarter’s revenue decline may be attributed in part to diminished returns in the company’s news and information services sector, an area that includes Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal.
The news and information services segment dropped off 11 percent year over year to $1.29 billion from $1.451 billion. Cable network programming was also off 11 percent from a year to $124 million.
On the plus side, digital real estate services revenues, which include Move and Realtor.com, shot up 71 percent to $191 million from $112 million a year ago.
The book publishing segment increased a modest 1 percent, with the success of the Harper Lee book “Go Set a Watchman” being offset by decreased sales for the “Divergent” book series.
Despite the missed estimates and declining revenue, News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson painted a cheery picture as he looked toward the company’s future.
“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,” Thomson said. “We are focused on driving sustainable expansion of revenue and profit, and leveraging the potency of our brand, while diligently controlling costs to maximize long-tern returns for all investors.”
Thomson placed some of the blame for the disappointing results on foreign exchange fluctuations.