21st Century Fox reported its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2016 on Wednesday, surpassing Wall Street expectations.
The media conglomerate reported earnings per share of $0.45, which surpassed Wall Street’s expectations of $0.37 EPS. The number is also higher than the $0.39 earnings per share a year ago.
Fox also reported revenue of $6.65 billion, which fell below the projected $6.68 billion, but is up seven percent from $6.21 billion a year ago.
The company attributed to a lower than expected operating income for its filmed entertainment sector to home video sales of “Deadpool” and “The Martian” not matching 2015’s sales of “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Maze Runner” and other titles.
During a call with investors after posting the company’s earnings, the company’s co-executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch addressed Roger Ailes’ resignation from Fox News, saying the news channel “moved quickly and decisively” to protect its business and its employees.
Murdoch also touted the channel being on track to have its highest rated year in 2016.
Fox cable programming posted quarterly revenue of $3.9 billion, up from $3.6 billion a year ago. The TV segment in general brought in over $1 billion in revenue, to counter weaker than expected intake on the film side.
Operating revenue on the filmed entertainment side raked in just $164 million, down from $269 million a year ago.
However, CEO James Murdoch said the company was “energized” by upcoming planned film releases, including Nate Parker’s “Birth of a Nation” and Tim Burton‘s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” as well as sequels “War of the Planet of the Apes” and “Kingsman 2.”