News Corp revenue rises on subscriptions; advertising revenue falls

(Reuters) - News Corp , the publishing company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, reported on Friday that annual revenue grew 2.7 percent to almost $8.9 billion on a rise in circulation and subscription revenue. Net income for the fiscal year ending June 30 was $506 million, or 87 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.1 billion, or $3.58 per share, in the previous year. News Corp split from the entertainment properties controlled by Murdoch at the end of June. Its businesses include newspapers The Wall Street Journal and The Times of London, book publisher HarperCollins, education company Amplify, and pay-TV and digital stakes in Australia. The movie studio, TV and cable holdings are now part of 21st Century Fox . Advertising revenue, which makes up half of total revenue, fell almost 9 percent to $4.3 billion. The News Corp split occurred as newspapers, one of its major assets, have experienced challenges across the globe as advertisers have shifted more of their dollars away from print and toward digital. For the fiscal fourth quarter ending June, News Corp reported a 10 percent rise in revenue to $2.3 billion and a loss of $1.1 billion due to a $1.4 billion impairment charge. In May, the company said it would write down the value of its Australian and U.S. publishing assets by up to $1.4 billion and take a charge for the quarter ending June 30. (Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)