News Corp blames Australian economy for massive revenue hit

News Corp's Australian newspapers took a revenue hit of almost $400 million in 2012-13.

The US-based media giant reported that Australian newspaper revenue fell by 15%, or US$350 million ($371 million), compared to 2011-12.

That would suggest its Australian newspaper business turned over about US$2 billion for the 12 months to 30 June 2013.

News Corp said the revenue decline was mainly due to reduced advertising revenue, which it mainly attributed to "the continued challenging economic environment in Australia".

The publisher said its 120-plus Australian newspapers accounted for more than 59% of national circulation.

[Related: Murdoch predicts newspapers' demise]

News Corp also reported a 2.7% rise in global revenue to US$8.9 billion. It posted a US$547 million profit after losing US$2 billion the previous financial year.

The profit came despite US$1.4 billion of write-downs and US$293 million of restructuring charges, "a significant portion of which resulted from its restructuring activities in Australia and the UK".

News Corp said its book business, HarperCollins, was "well-positioned in the evolving book publishing market" due in part to its early adoption of digital technology.

"HarperCollins is rapidly transitioning from print production to digital with leading e-book offerings," according to News Corp.

"With the rapid adoption of electronic formats by consumers, HarperCollins is publishing many titles in digital formats before, or instead of, publishing a print edition."

[Related: Was Murdoch right to say newspapers are dying]

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