Time Warner Q1 Profit Beats Expectations

NEW YORK: Time Warner’s first quarter profit fell 14 percent to $661 million, a result that was better than Wall Street expectations, on revenues of $6.9 billion, reflecting a 7-percent decline, largely as a result of AOL and the publishing and filmed entertainment segments.

A bright spot, however, was the Networks division, where revenues gained 6 percent to $2.8 billion. Subscription revenues increased by 9 percent, while ad revenues were down by 2 percent. The segment’s operating income gained 10 percent to $960 million. In Filmed Entertainment, meanwhile, revenues fell 7 percent to $2.6 billion, while operating income gained 17 percent to $214 million. Publishing revenues decreased by 23 percent to $806 million, with an operating loss of $32 million. And at AOL, revenues were down by 23 percent to $867 million, with sub revenues down by 27 percent and ad revenues down by 20 percent. AOL’s operating income fell by 47 percent to $150 million.

"With our separation of Time Warner Cable, Time Warner has become a more content-focused company," said Jeffrey Bewkes, the company’s chairman and CEO. "We’re also working to determine the right ownership structure for AOL. With our powerful brands, industry-leading scale, track record of innovation, heightened focus on efficiency and strong balance sheet, I’m confident that we’ll continue to make progress toward our key long-term goals—to be the world’s leading content company and improve returns to our stockholders."