Scandal hit News Corp posts big loss

US: Rupert Murdoch’s embattled media giant News Corp posted a net loss of $1.51 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter Wednesday, as the firm prepared for a major restructuring.

The company’s bottom line was hit by a $2.85 billion charge apparently related to a plan to split its entertainment division from its struggling publishing business, hit by tabloid phone hacking scandals in Britain.

News Corp described the charge as “a write-down of $1.5 billion of goodwill and a $1.3 billion write-down of the company’s indefinite-lived intangibles, principally related to the company’s publishing businesses, most significantly the Australian operations.”

News Corp also wrote off $57 million it said it spent during the quarter on an “ongoing investigation” into the British phone hacking scandal, bringing the total cost for the year to approximately $224 million.

AFP