News Corp’s European satellite interests made a healthy contribution in the first quarter of the media giant’s fiscal 2012.
Operating income at Sky Italia increased by $37 million (€27.02 million) to $119 million, helped along by the absence of the FIFA World Cup and a reduction in marketing costs after last year’s rebranding exercise.
It was recently announced that Sky Italia had exceeded 5 million subscribers, having added 34,000 on the quarter.
First quarter net earnings from News Corp affiliates were $121 million as opposed to last year’s $94 million. The increased contributions from affiliates are primarily due to improved results from Sky Deutschland and BSkyB.
News Corp’s first quarter net income of $738 million also included $130 million of pre-tax charges, incorporating a fair value adjustment on the Company’s SKY Deutschland convertible securities and a fee related to the Company’s withdrawal of its BSkyB bid in July.
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