Fox Corp Class B (NASDAQ: FOX) stock lost over 3.6% on 8th August 2019 (as of 11:40am GMT-4; Source: Google finance) after the company posted better than results for the fourth quarter of FY 19. Rupert Murdoch’s newly spun-off Fox Corp debuted on the Nasdaq in March following the $71 billion sales of Twenty-First Century Fox’s film and television assets to Walt Disney Co. Net income for the quarter fell to $454 million in the three months ended June 30, from $471 million, a year earlier
FOX in the fourth quarter of FY 19 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 62 cents, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 59 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 5 percent to $2.51 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 19, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $2.47 billion. Overall revenue growth in Fox’s fiscal fourth quarter was largely driven by a 7.4% increase in affiliate revenues or the fees collected from cable and satellite operators and online distributors to $1.41 billion. Those increases were offset by a 6% decline in advertising revenues with fewer FIFA World Cup soccer matches. Sales in the broadcaster’s cable network programming business rose 2.2% to $1.3 billion.
Moreover, the quarterly total segment operating income before depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of $709 million was 11% higher than the prior-year quarter as higher contributions at the Television and Cable Network Programming segments were partially offset by lower contributions from Other, Corporate and Eliminations, primarily due to the impact of the FOX standalone costs as compared to the 21CF cost allocations in the prior-year quarter.
Meanwhile, Fox Entertainment said it would buy animation studio Bento Box Entertainment, which produces hits including Bob’s Burgers. Financial terms were not disclosed. Fox also said that it was spending $265 million for a 67% stake in Credible Labs Inc, an online consumer financial marketplace and that it would invest up to another $75 million of growth capital over about two years. Further, In May, Fox spent more than $236 million for a nearly 5% percent equity stake in The Stars Group Inc to build FOX Bet, a Fox-branded sports betting platform expected to launch this fall in U.S. states where sports wagering is legal. The betting product is on track to launch before football season.
Additionally, FOX has declared a dividend of $0.23 per Class A and Class B share. This dividend is payable on October 2, 2019 with a record date for determining dividend entitlements of September 4, 2019.