Rupert Murdoch's News Corp posts $219m loss on impairment charges

US media giant News Corp has reported a net loss of $219m (£175m) in the second quarter, mainly as a result of impairment charges in its Australian newspaper business.

It is the second consecutive quarter in which the company has posted a loss amid declining advertising revenue at its news and information business.

Group revenue edged down 2% year-on-year to $2.12bn, with revenues in news and information services falling 7%.

Advertising revenues fell by 9%, while circulation revenues decreased 5%.

However, the firm said many of its news outlets had seen strong growth in subscriber numbers on the back of increasing demand for "accurate and timely journalism".

News Corp publishes several newspapers in the UK, US and Australia, including the Wall Street Journal, the Times and the Sun.

It also owns book publisher HarperCollins and the Fox broadcasting network in the US.

"This quarter's results were impacted by non-cash charges because of a change in the carrying value of Foxtel and an impairment of the print-related fixed assets at our Australian newspaper business," chief executive Robert Thomson said.

Digital accounted for 27% of revenues in the news and information business, up from 22% in the previous year.

Thomson revealed that the Wall Street Journal now had over 2.1 million paid subscribers, with more than half of those being digital subscribers for the first time.

"Audiences are craving integrity, which is why so many of our mastheads have reported strong growth in readers and subscribers this quarter," he said.

"And advertisers need a trusted canvas and real results, not the muddled, muddied metrics of many digital platforms."

Revenues in the book publishing business were 4% higher, with digital sales up by 3%.

News Corp had posted a profit of $106m in the second quarter of the previous financial year.

Shares in the company rose 1.6% to $12.39 during after-hours trading in New York.