21st Century Fox shares rise on earnings beat

Shares of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc. rose more than 4.5% on Wednesday after the company reported earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations.

Profit for the quarter that ended Sept. 30 came in at 39 cents a share on an adjusted basis, compared with the average of 36 cents a share estimated by analysts.

The company’s revenue for the first quarter grew to $7.89 billion, up 12% from the same period last year. The increase in sales was driven by growth from its cable network programming business and from strong theatrical film releases, including “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Maze Runner.”

To date, the “Apes” sequel has grossed more than $700 million in ticket sales worldwide, while “The Maze Runner,” based on a young adult dystopian novel, has taken in more than $300 million.

Those hits helped propel the company’s filmed entertainment division to nearly $2.5 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 17% from a year ago.

Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen and Co., said the studio’s results have exceeded expectations.

“The company’s film studio is off to a very good start this year based on the solid performance of several films,” he wrote in a note to clients.

Sales from its cable television business rose 15% to about $3.2 billion, thanks to increased affiliate and advertising revenue at its networks, which include Fox Sports 1, Fox News Channel and FX Networks.

A slow start to the fall TV season was a drag on the broadcast television business, which posted revenues that were flat compared to a year ago at $1.05 billion. Revenue was held back by a 5% drop in advertising revenue because of generally lower ratings for entertainment programming at the Fox Broadcast Network.

The segment reported lower profit because of its increased spending on scripted shows, program cancellations costs and higher rights fees paid to the National Football League. For TV, operating income decreased to $174 million from $231 million in the prior year quarter.

The stock rose $1.51 to $34.84 a share Wednesday.

The company reported earnings on Tuesday after the close of the regular trading session in New York.

Follow Ryan Faughnder on Twitter for more entertainment business coverage @rfaughnder.