A rebound in advertising markets and strong box office results helped lift Time Warner Inc.‘s second quarter profit 7%, the media conglomerate said Wednesday.
The results topped Wall Street estimates and the company raised its full-year profit forecast.
The company’s Time Inc. magazine unit and cable properties both saw ad revenue improve for the second quarter in a row, a sign that businesses are spending again to get customers’ attention.
And a film slate that included Clash of the Titans and Sex and the City 2 helped boost the company’s Warner Bros. studio.
Time Warner reported net income of $562 million, or 49 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30. That’s up from $524 million, or 43 cents, a year ago.
Removing one-time items, earnings came to 50 cents per share, while analysts expected 45 cents, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue climbed 8% to $6.38 billion, the biggest increase in two years. Analysts expected revenue of $6.2 billion.
Revenue at Time Warner’s cable stations, which include HBO, CNN and others, rose 11%, while the unit’s operating profit jumped 14%.
Film entertainment revenue climbed 8%, with a 21% jump in operating profit.
In publishing, which includes Time Inc. magazines such as People and Sports Illustrated, revenue was flat though cost cutting helped lift operating profit 50%.
