News Corp has reported its best results in close to a decade, with a net profit of $US389 million in FY21.
This towers over the previous year’s $US1.55 billion loss, with total revenues of $9.36 billion in FY21, up 4 per cent year-on-year.
The change in fortunes has a lot to do with Foxtel, who saw a 40 per cent growth in subscribers.
Foxtel boasts 3.891 million Australian subscribers, with 1.885 million subscribing to the Foxtel flagship pay television service. 1.054 million were Kayo users, with 733,000 on Binge, and another 219,000 using Foxtel Now, the company’s catch-up service.
“Fiscal Year 2021 was the most profitable year since we created the new News Corp in 2013, with revenues rising 4 percent in the full year and surging by 30 percent in the Fourth Quarter,” News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said in a statement.
“We saw record subscriber growth at Foxtel, where, at the end of June, our paid streaming subscribers reached over 2 million, an increase year-on-year of 155 percent.
“That sterling performance has clearly given us much optionality as we consider Foxtel’s future, which is certainly bright, given that revenues rose 33 percent in the fourth quarter.”
The company’s subscription video sector saw its revenue leap by 10 per cent, from $US1.8 billion to $2 billion, including an $US89 million hike in revenue for Kayo and Binge.