Fox’s quarterly earnings lifted by TV, but film revenue declines

Media conglomerate 21st Century Fox reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings boosted by the World Series and Fox News, but the stock was down slightly in after-hours trading Monday after the company whiffed on revenue due largely to weaker film results.

Fox posted fiscal second-quarter earnings of 53 cents per share for the October-through-December period, with revenue of $7.68 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of 49 cents per share on revenue of $7.72 billion.

In the same quarter last year, Fox reported earnings of 44 cents per share on revenue of $7.38 billion.

The company said in a statement that it saw “solid increases in affiliate and advertising revenues across cable and television” during the period.

“It was a key driver in the quarter,” said James Murdoch, chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox, in an investor call on Monday, citing live sports events such as the World Series. He said NFL viewership saw declines but remained strong.

Lachlan Murdoch, the company’s executive chairman, emphasized the strength of Fox News as the country’s most-watched cable news channel. “That strength has continued unabated,” Murdoch said in the call.

For the quarter, the company’s cable division saw revenue of $3.97 billion, up from $3.70 billion in the year-ago period.

But Fox’s film division saw a drop in revenue for the quarter. Film revenue was $2.27 billion for the quarter, down from $2.36 billion in the year-ago quarter.

20th Century Fox has recently seen some high-profile disappointments at the domestic box office. The big-screen video game adaptation “Assassin’s Creed” flopped, as did Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply.” Meanwhile, the animated “Trolls” and the comedy “Why Him?” fared better.

The company said film results were weaker due to tough comparisons to last year’s quarter, which had more releases.

“The company’s domestic news and sports TV ratings outpaced peers in the quarter,” wrote Michael Morris, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities, in a recent research report.

He noted that Fox stations “benefited from political advertising spending” in the weeks leading up to the election.

Fox said Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast helped propel the company to its first half-billion-dollar-revenue day. But that windfall falls in the fiscal third quarter.

Shares of Fox closed Monday at $30.72, down 1.19%. Shares were down about .07% in after-hours trading to $30.70.

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