Fox Corp. relied more heavily on its ability to drive revenue from the transmission of the Fox broadcast network and its Fox stations, as it grappled with downturns in advertising during its fiscal fourth quarter.
The owner of Fox News, Fox Sports and the Fox broadcast network said it generated profit of $375 million, or 74 cents per share, compared with $306 million, or 55 per share in the year-earlier period. Excluding one time items, Fox reported adjusted earnings of $443 million or 88 cents per share.
Revenue was basically flat, standing at about $3.03 billion. Affiliate fees increased to about $1.77 billion, compared with nearly $1.73 billion in the year-earlier period. Advertising, meanwhile, fell to $1.008 billion. compared with $1.055 billion in the year-earlier quarter.
Fox typically relies on its cable operations for ballast, but found choppier operating conditions. Affiliate fees were basically flat due to subscriber declines and ad revenue fell, due to what the company said was “the continued impact of elevated supply in the direct response marketplace at Fox News Media.”
The company’s traditional broadcasting assets saw affiliate fees rise 9%, even as advertising dropped by $30 million. The company said growth at Tubi was offset by declines in political advertising at its local TV stations.
The company “handily beat earnings/free cash flow expectations for F4Q and upped the buyback authorization. It’s a strong finish to FY23,’said Steven Cahall, an analyst for Wells Fargo. “We think investors will now focus on FY24 items: TV opex (sports) and Fox News performance (new programming).”
