Investing.com --Shares in News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS) jumped in early U.S. trading on Friday after the media group posted better-than-estimated third-quarter results despite a dip in advertising revenue.
The company, whose assets include publishers Dow Jones & Company and HarperCollins, reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.09 on revenue of $2.45 billion, beating Wall Street estimates of $0.05 on revenue of $2.39B, respectively.
In a statement, chief executive Robert Thomson noted that strong performance at Dow Jones' professional information business helped offset "a period in which advertising was clearly insipid in certain parts of the world."
Group-wide ad revenues in the three-month period to the end of March fell by 6% to $393 million, with chief financial officer Susan Lee Panuccio citing "notable impacts" from lower spending by technology and finance companies.
Panuccio added that while the advertising market "remains challenging," signs are emerging that the rate of decline is starting to abate. Media firms have been hit recently as many potential advertisers rein in spending on marketing in response to elevated inflation and a weaker economic outlook.
Meanwhile, Thomson said News Corp's own cost reduction drive, which includes cutting about 5% of its workforce, is starting to "gain traction."
Analysts at Loop Capital said this push to lower expenses was expected to yield at least $160M in annualized savings "mostly in 2024," up from an initial estimate of $130M.