21st Century Fox posts strong fiscal 4Q beat as Disney deal powers stock appreciation

Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) said Wednesday its full-year and quarterly results surpassed market expectations, as the deal with Walt Disney Co )NYSE:DIS) and strong growth in its domestic and international cable brands allowed the media company to post growth in both earnings and revenue.

For the year ended June 30, 2018, the company said earnings per share was at US$1.97, some 2% higher than the prior year’s level. Total revenue for the year was at US$30.4bn, some 7% higher than the previous year’s US$28.5bn.

In the fiscal fourth quarter, EPS reached US$0.57, higher than expectations of US$0.54. Revenue came in at US$7.95bln, compared to the consensus estimate of US$7.55bn and the year-ago figure of US$6.75bn.

Shares of Fox eased 0.2% to finish at US$45.09. It rose 0.2% to US$45.05 in post-market trade.

READ: Disney wins US anti-trust approval for its Twenty-First Century Fox deal

Fox said the Disney deal enabled its stock price to increase by approximately 75% during the fiscal year, significantly ahead of both the 12% average growth for the S&P 500.

“The strength of the Company’s domestic and international cable brands led to double-digit affiliate growth in every quarter of the fiscal year with the domestic growth driven by pricing strength while maintaining our overall level of subscribers, including distribution on all emerging virtual MVPD platforms,” the company said.

Fox’s entertainment assets are being acquired by Disney. The performance of the company was boosted by movies like Deadpool 2, which has grossed over US$730 million in worldwide box office to date.

Contact Rene Pastor at [email protected]

Story by ProactiveInvestors