News Corporation Strikes Quarterly Estimates, Announces CFO Change

News Corporation Strikes estimates for first quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, driven by growth in its digital real estate services, book publishing and Dow Jones sections.

The company stated, Susan Panuccio will retire from her role as finance chief and will be replaced by Lavanya Chandrashekar early next year, though Panuccio will continue as a senior adviser until June.

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 Mondelez International.

Furthermore, the company's Dow Jones section, which gives news and business information and that includes the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and Investor's Business Daily, saw a growth in content licensing and digital subscription in the first quarter.

The section, 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 section dropped 7 percent initially due to weak ad spending in the technology and finance sectors, the company added.

According to credentials, News corporation revenue stood at $2.58 billion in the quarter ended sep.30, compared with an estimate of $2.57 billion.

Property listing firm REA group, which is 62 percent owned by News corporation, saw a 22 percent 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 percent 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 acknowledgement of third-party interest. However, it did not provide any details.

News Corporations adjusted profit per share stood at 21 cents in the quarter, beating estimates of 16 cents.