Time Warner today posted a better-than-expected second-quarter profit on higher advertising sales at its television networks and a record box office from its latest Harry Potter film.
The world's largest media company raised its profit forecast for the overall company and for its America Online Internet unit, sending shares up 1.5 per cent in pre-market trading.
The New York-based owner of the Warner Bros studios, CNN and HBO posted a quarterly net profit of $777 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with $1.06 billion, or 23 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter.
The 2003 quarter included gains of 12 cents per share from the sale of Comedy Central cable channel and a settlement with Microsoft Corp. Revenue rose 10 per cent to $10.9 billion.
AOL lost 668,000 subscribers compared with the first quarter of 2004. The number of billed subscribers rose by 85,000.
Time Warner said the SEC and the Department of Justice continue to investigate the company's accounting practices, particularly at AOL. The SEC investigation could result in the restatement of company financial statements, Time Warner said.