(Reuters) -News Corp beat estimates for first-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, driven by growth in its digital real estate services, book publishing and Dow Jones segments.
The company also said Susan Panuccio will depart from her role as finance chief and will be replaced by Lavanya Chandrashekar early next year.
Chandrashekar, 52, has recently served as chief financial officer at beverage company Diageo and prior to that held senior finance positions at Procter & Gamble and Mondelēz International .
Panuccio will continue as a senior adviser until June.
The company’s Dow Jones segment, which provides news and business information and that includes the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch and Investor’s Business Daily, saw a surge in content licensing and digital subscription in the first quarter.
The segment, which accounts for the largest share of revenue, grew 3% to $552 million in the quarter on a robust professional information business.
However, advertising revenue in the segment dropped 7% primarily due to weak ad spending in the technology and finance sectors, the company said.
News Corp’s revenue stood at $2.58 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with an estimate of $2.57 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Property listing firm REA Group, which is 62% owned by News Corp, saw a 22% rise in revenue to $54 million, as residential demand remains strong in Australia due to price hikes.
Revenue from its book publishing unit, which consists of HarperCollins, rose 4% on higher sales of its physical and digital books.
The company said it is continuing to assess strategic and financial options for its Australian cable TV and streaming unit, Foxtel, in response to third-party interest. However, It did not provide any details.
News Corp’s adjusted profit per share stood at 21 cents in the quarter, beating estimates of 16 cents.
(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
