Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (NASDAQ:FOXA) posted fiscal third-quarter earnings late Wednesday that widely missed Wall Street estimates.
The media conglomerate attributed part of that miss to a US$60mln charge to account for higher compensation expenses as a result of its proposed sale of assets to The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS).
On an adjusted basis, 21st-Century Fox booked earnings of US$0.49 per share, well below the US$0.54 per share consensus of analysts.
Revenue in the quarter ended March 31 came in at US$7.42bn vs. estimates of US$7.41bn.
Executive Chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said in a release that the company's cable segment “delivered its highest earnings ever in our fiscal third quarter, propelled by sustained double-digit gains in domestic affiliate revenues.”
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The company is in the process of selling off many of its assets in a deal with The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) valued at US$60bn. Meanwhile, the company is engaged in a bidding war with Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) to take over British satellite broadcaster Sky.
Share were unchanged in extended trading.