Murdoch Sees Higher News Corp. Earnings

Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp. Ltd., said today that he expects his debt-laden international media company to increase earnings this fiscal year.

Murdoch told the annual meeting of shareholders that despite uncertainties in some of the company’s major markets, he expects News Corp. to “trade on ahead of last year.” He did not estimate earnings and would not comment on the company’s short-term debt problems that helped depress News Corp.’s stock price in recent weeks.

News Corp.’s short-term debt soared last fiscal year to $2.30 billion from $396 million. Total debt rose to $8.21 billion from $6.13 billion.

News Corp. stock closed today up about 50 cents to $4.75 in Australian stock market trading.

In an interview Monday, Murdoch said his empire will increasingly concentrate on film and electronic media, rather than the newspapers and magazines with which he built News Corp. Newspapers and magazines now account for about 70% of News Corp. profits.

His international holdings include interests in the Fox Television network in the United States and a 51% holding in the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, News Corp. reported that earnings dropped 75.5% to $267 million, largely because of losses at Murdoch’s Sky-TV satellite broadcasting business in Britain and a pilots’ strike at the half-owned Ansett Australia airline.

Shareholders today approved a resolution allowing directors to issue limited-voting shares. Murdoch wants to be able to issue such shares so the company can raise funds without diluting his 45% stake.