News Corp Posts Second-Quarter Loss

News Corp, the owner of Dow Jones Newswires and book publisher HarperCollins, posted its second quarterly loss in a row as it struggles to offset the decline in advertising income in its newspaper business.

The company's news and information business, which includes newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and the Times in London, has been suffering from lower advertisements as readers prefer the quick and free news on websites and mobile apps.

Revenue in the business fell nearly 7 percent to $1.30 billion in the second quarter, accounting for about 60 percent of total revenue.

Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $1.34 billion, according to FactSet Street Account.

News Corp's advertising revenue fell 8.3 percent to $ 748 million.

One bright spot for Rupert Murdoch-controlled company has been its digital real-estate business, where it has enjoyed rapid growth.

News Corp said revenue in the business surged 16.3 percent in the quarter to $242 million, in line with analysts' estimate.

The business includes REA Group Ltd, a leading real estate advertising company in Australia, and Realtor.com in the United States and other countries.

Net loss available to News Corp shareholders was $290 million, or 50 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $62 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, News Corp earned 19 cents per share.

Revenue fell 2.1 percent to $2.12 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 18 cents per share and revenue of $2.12 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the media conglomerate were up 1.6 percent at $12.59 after the bell on Thursday.