News Corp Beats Q2 Expectations

News Corp NWSA NWS reported financial results Thursday its second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2014.

Second quarter total revenues came in at $2.28 billion, above expectations of $2.24 billion and a 2 percent increase compared to the prior year revenues of $2.24 billion.

Second quarter Total Segment EBITDA was $328 million compared to $327 million in the prior year.

Adjusted net income was $154 million compared to $179 million in the prior year.

Net income was $142 million as compared to $150 million in the prior year, primarily due to a higher effective tax rate and lower interest income.

Adjusted EPS were $0.26, above estimates of $0.24, and below the $0.31 reported in the prior year period.

Net income per share was $0.24 as compared to $0.26 in the prior year.

Chief Executive Robert Thomson said, “The development of the new News Corp continued apace in the second quarter as we began the transformation of the just acquired realtor.com, which has certainly exceeded our expectations in traffic growth in recent weeks. We were clearly buffeted by currency headwinds, but the strength of our brands, the breadth of our reach, the intensifying focus on cost discipline and the power of our portfolio meant that we saw continued growth in revenue and increasing upside in our long-term prospects.”

News Corp NWS shares closed at $15.22 Thursday, up 0.73 percent.

News Corp NWSA shares closed at $15.73, up 0.90 percent.