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HarperCollins Sees Three-Fold Income Growth in Second Quarter
NEW YORK, NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/February 2, 2010— HarperCollins, owned by News Corporation, increased its operating income by three-fold to $65 million for the second quarter ended December 31, 2009. The year-over-year increase is attributed to higher sales at the General and the Children’s Book divisions which were partially offset by higher royalty and manufacturing costs. Second quarter results included strong sales of Going Rogue by Sarah Palin, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith. During the quarter, HarperCollins had 48 books on The New York Times bestseller list, including seven titles that reached the number one spot.
Overall, News Corporation reported second quarter net income of $254 million ($0.10 per share) as compared to a net loss of $6.4 billion ($2.45 per share) in the second quarter a year ago. Excluding the net income
effects in both years of one-time items, principally consisting of the litigation charge this year and the impairment charge last year, second quarter adjusted earnings per share1 this year are $0.25 as compared to the year ago result of $0.15.
In the quarter, total revenue increased by 10% to $8.7 billion as a result of double-digit percentage growth at the majority of business segments as compared to the same period a year ago. Excluding the litigation settlement charge, the Company reported total segment operating income of $1.2 billion, an increase of 44% compared with segment operating income of $839 million reported a year ago2. These results reflect
growth at the Filmed Entertainment, Television, Cable Network Programming, Newspapers and Information Services and Book Publishing segments, partially offset by decreases at the Direct Broadcast Satellite Television and Other segments.
Commenting on the results, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch said: “Our strong top-line revenue growth demonstrates that News Corporation is emerging from this recession with renewed vigor and strength. Moreover, our underlying operating trends this quarter far outpace those of the same quarter last year. We continue to reap the benefits from the restructuring and cost containment measures we instituted before the downturn began and I am pleased that our unrelenting focus has translated to growth across our businesses that will reward stockholders for years to come. News Corporation’s leadership position in news, sports and entertainment stems from our unique ability to produce the high quality content that consumers and distributors demand. We have a strong management team that knows how to nurture our core businesses, while taking prudent, creative risks like Avatar that lead the industry forward. I have every confidence that News Corporation is entering a new period of sustained
Growth”.
The News Corporation results include a one-time $500 million pre-tax charge ($315 million or $0.12 per share, net of tax) related to the settlement of litigation filed against the Company’s Integrated Marketing Services business.
