News Corp. 1Q up but Online Paper Fees Delayed

FILE - In this file film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, a pregnant Ellie the mammoth...

FILE - In this file film publicity image released by 20th Century Fox, a pregnant Ellie the mammoth is tended to by her possums Crash and Eddie in a scene from, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." Media conglomerate News Corp. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 said its net income for the latest quarter grew despite analysts' expectations of a decline, thanks to strength at its cable networks and the box-office success of "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs." (AP Photo/20th Century Fox)

(AP)

Media conglomerate News Corp. posted a surprise increase in quarterly profit Wednesday, but Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said the company might not meet its goal of charging fees for online versions of its newspapers by next summer.

Profits at the wide-ranging company got a boost from the box-office success of "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" as well as from strength at its cable networks like Fox News Channel.

But advertising revenues fell during the quarter that ended Sept. 30 at newspapers worldwide and local TV stations in the U.S.

Murdoch said he "wouldn't promise" to begin charging for online access to the company's newspapers, which include The New York Post or The Times of London, by next June.

When asked on a conference call what the delay was, Murdoch said, "with everything."

"There is a huge amount of work going on. It is not just with our sites, but with other people," said Murdoch, 78.

The company is facing multiple challenges, including an advertising downturn and the shift of readers to the Internet, although local TV ad revenues were recovering this month and seen improving in December, Murdoch said.

Newspaper and TV station earnings fell but they were more than offset by cost-cutting and gains elsewhere.

The Wall Street Journal, which already charges for online content, remained slightly profitable, but lower ad revenue offset increases in circulation and higher newsstand prices.

Net income for the company's fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30, increased 11 percent to $571 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with $515 million, or 20 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a drop to 18 cents per share.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $7.2 billion, in line with estimates.

Citing better movie performance and an improving market for local TV ads, News Corp. also raised its annual forecast for fiscal 2010 operating profits to growth in the "high single- to low double-digit" percentages from its 2009 level of $3.44 billion. The fiscal year ends in June.