(Reuters) – Fox Corp’s third-quarter profit beat Wall Street forecasts on Wednesday thanks to lower costs, although its revenue fell more than 15% due to weakness in its advertising business.
The media company benefited from a nearly 25% reduction in operating expenses during the quarter. That helped the company report adjusted earnings of $1.09 per share, compared with LSEG estimates of 96 cents.
Shares of the company behind the Fox sports network and Fox News rose 1.3% in early trading.
Fox also reported net income of $666 million, compared with a loss of $54 million a year earlier, thanks to the absence of fees related to the settlement of last year’s agreement with Dominion Voting Systems.
The company’s advertising revenue fell by more than a third in the first three months of the year as Fox faced no Super Bowl broadcast and fewer National Football League games.
Media companies saw advertising dollars decline last year as an uncertain economy put pressure on marketers’ spending.
Fox reported total revenue for the period of $3.45 billion, down from $4.08 billion a year earlier. This figure was in line with estimates.
As part of its efforts to grow its business, Fox agreed in February to form a sports streaming joint venture with Walt. Disney (NYSE:) and Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:).
The business is expected to have 5 million subscribers in its first five years, Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch said.
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