Time Warner Beats Estimates; Outlook Solid
February 10 2016 - 8:10AM
Dow Jones News
Time Warner Inc. offered an upbeat forecast for the year after
topping earnings expectations in its fourth quarter, thanks to
lower costs and continued gains in its HBO segment.
Separately on Wednesday, Time Warner raised its quarterly
dividend 15% to $1.61 a share and said its board approved $5
billion in additional share repurchases. Shares rose 1.4% in
premarket trading.
Time Warner, the owner of Warner Bros. film studio and cable
channels HBO, TNT and CNN, has been grappling with cable TV
subscriber declines and the rise of online streaming. The company
has said it would invest more in digital platforms and consider
holding back more of its television shows for longer on its own
platforms before selling them to streaming services like Netflix
Inc. The company has engaged in talks to buy a stake of Hulu,
another streaming service, discussions that have recently heated
up, according to recent reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
In its latest quarter, higher revenue in the company's Turner
and Home Box Office segments helped counter a 15% drop in revenue
from the Warner Bros. business.
Lower expenses also boosted the company's bottom line. The
company booked $29 million in restructuring costs in the period,
down sharply from the $166 million recorded a year ago. At the same
time, Time Warner reduced overhead costs by 16%.
In all for the quarter, Time Warner reported profit of $857
million, or $1.06 a share, up from $718 million, or 84 cents, a
year earlier. Revenue slid 5.9% to $7.08 billion. Analysts surveyed
by Thomson Reuters had projected $1.01 in adjusted profit per share
on $7.53 billion in revenue.
For the year, Time Warner said it expects to earn an adjusted
$5.30 to $5.40 a share this year, above the $5.26 analysts have
projected and up from its earlier prediction of $5.25 a share.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 10, 2016 07:55 ET (12:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024