(Reuters) – Fox Corp beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Wednesday due to lower expenses, even as its revenue fell more than 15% on weakness in its advertising business.
The media company benefited from a nearly 25% drop in operating expenses in the quarter. That helped it report an adjusted profit of $1.09 per share, compared with LSEG estimates of 96 cents.
Shares of the company behind the Fox sports network and Fox News rose 1.3% in early trading.
Fox also posted net income of $666 million, compared with a loss of $54 million a year earlier, thanks to the absence of charges tied to its deal last year with Dominion Voting Systems.
The company's advertising revenue fell by more than a third in the first three months of the year as Fox grappled with the lack of airing the Super Bowl and fewer National Football League games.
Media companies have seen a decline in advertising dollars over the past year as an uncertain economic environment put pressure on marketers' spending.
Fox reported total revenue of $3.45 billion for the period, compared to $4.08 billion a year earlier. The figure was in line with estimates.
As part of its efforts to grow the business, Fox agreed in February to form a sports broadcasting joint venture with Walt. disney (NYSE:) and Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:).
The company is expected to have 5 million subscribers in the first five years, Fox Corp Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said.
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