News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) shares are falling today after the company reported $2.1 billion in losses from its publishing business. In morning trades shares of the stock were down 2 percent. Bloomberg reports that News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) blames restructuring, declining sales and write-downs for the losses in its fiscal year 2012, which ended in June.
News Corp named one of the reasons for its major losses last year as the closing of its News of the World paper in the U.K. shortly after the phone hacking scandal there. The company named another reason as bringing in lower revenues at its Australian newspapers.
The company reported profits of $678 million last year. Its publishing revenue fell to $8.65 billion from $9.1 billion last year. The publishing division posted $92 million in additional losses during the three months prior to Sept. 30. News Corp. also reported $2.76 billion in restructuring and impairment expenses last year.
News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) said it intends to split its publishing unit off from the rest of the company after being pressured to do so by shareholders in June. However the Chicago Tribune reports today that News Corp.’s publishing division would have lost $2.08 billion if it had stood on its own last year.
After the split, one company would include its film division and Fox television and would be called the Fox Group. The other company would include all of its publishing services including its newspapers, digital real estate, digital education, pay-TV distribution in Australia, book publishing and information marketing services. Robert Thomson will become CEO of the new publishing company after the split.
