New York, NY (AHN) - The Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp, poised to take over the Wall Street Journal, has posted a 22 percent rise in profit on the back of pay television earnings and box office gains. The worldwide media company's full year's profit was $4.02 billion AUD ($3.46 billion USD) - ahead of financial analysts' expectations.

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch said to The Australian newspaper Thursday, "While we continue to benefit from the strength of our traditional assets, we also generated significant financial momentum across our developing platforms, including $258.86 million AUD ($221 million USD) of profits at SKY Italia, continued growth at our international cable channels and the first full years of profitability at Fox Interactive Media."

"The continued expansion of these assets and the further evolution of our traditional businesses in the digital world will pave the way for sustained growth in the years to come," Murdoch said.

Analyst Richard Dorfman, managing director at New York-based investment company Richard Alan Inc., agreed saying to Bloomberg "[News Corp. is] firing on all cylinders on the cable network front,'' adding that "As long as Fox News is doing well, it'll have a positive impact on earnings."