News Corp., the press and broadcasting company run by Rupert Murdoch, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 19%, led by blockbuster movies including the latest “X- Men” and revenue from cable-television networks.

Net income rose to $852 million, or 27 cents a share, from $717 million, or 22 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based company said yesterday. The results included a gain of $134 million for the sale of radio stations in Europe. Sales increased 11% to $6.78 billion in the period ended June 30.

News Corp. benefited from the boxoffice successes of “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” and the third installment of “XMen.” A return to profit at Sky Italia, News Corp.’s Italian satellite- TV unit, and higher advertising sales at the Fox broadcast network and Fox News on cable TV also lifted earnings.

“The earnings were in line with our estimates but every division other than film underperformed on the revenue line,” an analyst at Pasadena, Calif.-based Soleil Securities who rates the shares “hold” and doesn’t own them, Laura Martin, said. “It’s not impressive for a company that is supposed to be one of the fastest-growing in the industry.”

Class A shares of News Corp. fell 4 cents in extended trading to $19.30. They rose 36 cents to $19.34 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, and have climbed 24% this year.

On a conference call with analysts, Mr. Murdoch, 75, said he was in “active talks” with Liberty Media Corp.’s John Malone to reduce Liberty’s 18% voting stake in News Corp.

Mr. Murdoch said he expects a deal with Mr. Malone, and will maintain News Corp.’s shareholder-rights plan until then.

The company today extended its shareholder-rights plan until October 20, 2008, according to a regulatory filing by the company. News Corp. in June received court approval to settle a shareholder lawsuit over its “poison pill” after the language was altered to satisfy Liberty and other investors.