Time Warner Profit Up on HBO, Turner Gains

NEW YORK: Time Warner's second-quarter profit rose to $850 million as the company reported gains at HBO and Turner, with total revenues increasing by 3 percent to $6.8 billion.

The results come a day after 21st Century Fox announced it was abandoning its bid to acquire the conglomerate. In announcing the results, Time Warner's chairman and CEO, Jeff Bewkes, noted, “We had another strong quarter, reflecting the strength of our businesses and our potential for continued growth as we deliver on our strategic plan to be the world’s leading video content company."

He added, "Our commitment to invest in great storytelling was evident across the company. With hits like Game of Thrones, True Detective and Silicon Valley, HBO once again led the industry with 99 Primetime Emmy nominations, more than double its nearest competitor for the second straight year and the most nominations for the 14th year in a row. At Turner, TNT debuted the two most-watched new series on ad-supported cable this year with The Last Ship and Murder in the First and ranked as ad-supported cable’s number one prime-time network among total viewers and adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 in the second quarter. Turner’s other networks also continued to lead the industry, and in the second quarter TBS finished as the number 3 ad-supported cable network in prime time among adults 18-49 and Adult Swim ended as ad-supported cable’s number one network in total day among adults 18-34 and 18-49.

"Heading into the 2014-2015 television season, Warner Bros. is the number one producer of shows for broadcast networks for the 11th time in the past 12 seasons. Starting this fall, Warner Bros. will have 31 shows on broadcast networks, including at least two prime-time series on each network, and 60 shows across broadcast and cable. And in film, Warner Bros. benefited in the quarter from the home video releases of the second Hobbit installment and The LEGO Movie, which, in addition to being one of the year’s biggest box office hits, has also become a franchise property for the studio. Further demonstrating our commitment to shareholder returns, so far this year we’ve returned over $4 billion to our shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends, and our board in June approved an additional $5 billion of share repurchases.”

At Turner, revenues were $2.8 billion, a 5-percent increase, led by an 8-percent gain in subs revenues, while ad revenues were stable. Operating income at Turner improved by 14 percent to $929 million.

HBO revenues rose by 17 percent to $1.4 billion, as subs revenues showed a 10-percent rise and content revenues a 56 percent boost, mostly as a result of the premium channel operator's licensing deal with Amazon Prime. HBO's operating income increased by 19 percent to $548 million.

Warner Bros., meanwhile, reported a 2-percent decrease in revenues to $2.9 million as a result of lower theatrical revenues. The studio did, however, see improved home-entertainment and electronic sell-through revenues and a gain in license fees from TV production. Operating income rose 29 percent to $234 million.