News Corp posts higher adjusted profit

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA-Q) on Wednesday posted a higher adjusted quarterly profit driven by carriage fees at its cable and Fox broadcast networks even as the company struggles with speculation about future leadership at the family-controlled media conglomerate.

Fiscal first quarter profit came in at $738 million US, or 28 cents a share, down from $775 million, or 30 cents a share last year.

The quarter's net income included costs related to the restructuring of its UK newspaper arm, fees spent on its failed bid for full control of BSkyB and other Sky Deutschland related costs.

After adjusting for the impact of these charges, adjusted net income was 32 cents a share.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $7.96 billion.

Murdoch and his family have been under intense scrutiny for the last five months in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal at News Corp's UK newspaper unit.

The scandal which has seen senior executive resignations, the arrests of several staffers and upended News Corp's largest ever corporate merger, has put Murdoch's younger son James under the most pressure. James Murdoch, once seen as a CEO successor to his father, had overseen the UK unit involved in phone hacking.