News Corp Announces Profits Up After Phone Hacking Scandal Arrests
News Corporation has announced annuals profits of $2.74 billion, despite what chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch said were "challenges" relating to the ongoing phone hacking scandal.
The company said in its earnings release that net income for the 3 months ending June 30 was $683 million.
Profits for the year are up from $2.54 billion last year, despite a reported loss of $254 million after the sale of failing social network Myspace.
News Corp beat analysts estimates. Shares rose by around five per cent in after-hours trading.
Answering questions from US journalists on the earnings call following the announcement, Murdoch said the company's performance was "exceptional."
On phone hacking he said: "I have run this company for more than 50 years. The kind of behaviour that occurred in that newsroom has no place within News Corporation."
"The board and I believe that I should continue in my current role," he said. "But make no mistake: Chase Carey and I run this company as a team."
Murdoch says he's "disappointed" about the end of the BSkyB bid, but that it was "no longer feasible" for News Corp. to buy it up.
"While it has been a good quarter from a financial point of view, our company has faced challenges in recent weeks relating to our London tabloid, News of the World. We are acting decisively in the matter and will do whatever is necessary to prevent something like this from ever occurring again."
The earnings report came as another former News of the World editor, Greg Miskiw, was arrested by police in London.
Meanwhile Dick Fedorcio, the Director of Public Affairs and Internal Communication for the Metropolitan Police Service, has been put on a period of extended gardening leave over the Independent Police Complaints Commission's investigation into his links with the former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis.
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Huffington Post UK Michael Rundle First Posted: 10/08/11 22:23 Updated: 10/10/11 11:12