News Corp unveils net loss of $4bn

Rupert Murdoch conceded yesterday that a crippling write-off of an investment in Gemstar, the publisher of TV Guide in the United States, had been a "real disappointment", leading his media group, News Corp, to announce a $4bn net loss for its latest quarter.

The figures were released as NTT Corp, the Japanese telecoms giant, also reported a massive ¥812bn (£4.4bn) loss for the year to March after writing down ¥1.4 trillion worth of investments, mainly in overseas mobile operators such as KPN Mobile and AT&T Wireless.

The Gemstar débâcle blotted what would otherwise have been a bright quarter for News Corp. Another area of concern was his newspaper division, however, which includes The Times and The Sun in Britain and the New York Post, which saw a 5 per cent decline in revenues.

The company suffered a $4.23bn write-off at Gemstar, which has been plagued by questions about its accounting habits and its management. News Corp owns 44 per cent of the California-based company and Mr Murdoch recently assigned an executive from his Fox television unit, Jess Shell, to take over as chief operating officer.

Without the write-off News Corp would have reported a near-doubling of earnings to $236m from $127m in the same quarter a year ago.