MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner has reported financial results for its first quarter ended 31 March, 2013. The company posted flat revenues of $6.9 billion compared to the year-ago quarter, as growth at the Networks segment was offset by declines at the Film and TV Entertainment and Publishing segments.

Adjusted operating income grew by seven per cent to $1.4 billion due to increases at the Networks and Film and TV Entertainment segments, offset in part by declines at the Publishing segment. Adjusted EPS rose by 22 per cent to $0.82

Time Warner chairman, CEO Jeff Bewkes said: "We?re off to a strong start in 2013, making us even more confident in our full-year outlook. Our Adjusted Operating Income in the first quarter increased by seven per cent to $1.4 billion, up by 10 per cent excluding Publishing, and Adjusted EPS climbed by 22 per cent. These results reflect the ongoing strength of our content, particularly in television.

"At Turner, the NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball tournament was the most watched March Madness in almost two decades. And we?re seeing good momentum across most of Turner?s networks, including TBS, which was the #1 ad-supported cable network in primetime across adults 18-34 and 18-49 during the quarter. At Warner Bros., we have had another very strong TV season, including having four of the top six comedies on TV and both of the breakout new dramas of this season, ?Revolution? and ?The Following?.

"And HBO continues to go from strength to strength, powered by hits like ?Game of Thrones?, which is on track this season to become the most-watched series on HBO since ?The Sopranos?.

"This quarter we also announced our plans to spin off Time Inc. into an independent publicly-traded company, which we expect to complete by the end of the year. As we said when we announced the spin-off in March, we believe this is the best structure for both Time Inc. and Time Warner, and expect this step will create additional value for our stockholders. Underscoring our commitment to stockholder returns, so far this year we?ve repurchased almost $870 million of our stock and paid out over $270 million in dividends."

Networks (Turner Broadcasting and HBO) : Revenues increased by three per cent ($93 million) to $3.7 billion, benefiting from growth of five per cent ($115 million) in Subscription revenues, partly offset by declines of one per cent ($12 million) in ad revenues and four per cent ($11 million) in content revenues. The increase in subscription revenues resulted primarily from higher domestic rates and international growth.

Ad revenues benefited from growth at Turner?s domestic entertainment networks due principally to higher pricing, offset in part by the timing of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball National Championship tournament. Adv revenue growth at Turner?s domestic entertainment networks was more than offset by declines at its news networks, due to lower demand, and the shutdown of Turner?s general entertainment network, Imagine, in India and TNT television operations in Turkey in the first half of 2012.

Adjusted Operating Income grew by seven per cent ($87 million) to $1.3 billion due primarily to higher revenues. Programming costs were essentially flat compared to the prior year quarter as higher costs for originals were offset by the timing of the NCAA Tournament, lower programming write-downs and cost reductions due to the shutdown of Imagine and the TNT television operations in Turkey.

Operating income increased by 11 per cent ($125 million) to $1.3 billion. The current year quarter included $20 million of charges related to Turner?s international operations. The prior year quarter included a $58 million charge related to Turner?s decision to shut down Imagine.

Film, TV entertainment (Warner Bros.) : Revenues decreased by four per cent ($103 million) to $2.7 billion, reflecting mainly lower theatrical performance and a decline in television licensing revenues resulting primarily from fewer significant international syndication availabilities. The declines were offset in part by higher home video revenues from the strong performance of ?The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? and ?Argo? and revenues from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter, which opened in March 2012. Adjusted Operating Income rose by 23 per cent ($50 million) to $265 million, as contributions from ?The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? and lower print and ad costs more than offset the decline in revenues.

Operating Income grew by 23 per cent ($49 million) to $263 million. ?The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, making it the fourth biggest film in Warner Bros.? history. ?The Ellen DeGeneres Show?, which is in its 10th season, has been renewed by stations covering 97 per cent of the US through the 2015-2016 season.

Season-to-date, Warner Bros. Television?s ?Revolution? and ?The Following? rank as the top two new series on primetime broadcast television among adults 18-49.

MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Time Warner?s revenue for the full-fiscal ended December has increased eight per cent to $29 billion, its highest growth rate since 2003.

Adjusted operating income rose by nine per cent to a record $5.9 billion. Adjusted EPS grew 20 per cent to $2.89.

Time Warner chairman, CEO Jeff Bewkes said, ?While investing aggressively to drive our long-term growth, we also returned $5.6 billion to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. For 2012, we will execute against the same strategic priorities that have driven our success in recent years: We?re investing aggressively in programming, production and marketing. We?re further accelerating our Content Everywhere initiatives. We?re expanding our presence internationally in attractive territories. And we?re maintaining our strict focus on operating and capital efficiency."

Time Warner announced an increase in dividend and a new $4 billion stock repurchase authorisation.

Revenue increase for the year reflected growth at the Networks and film segments. Adjusted operating Income rose by nine per cent to $5.9 billion, due to strong results at all of the company?s segments. Operating income increased by seven per cent to $5.8 billion. Adjusted operating income and operating income margins were each 20 per cent in 2011, the same as in 2010.

Fourth-quarter revenues increased by five per cent from the year-ago quarter to $8.2 billion, reflecting higher revenues at the film and networks segments. Adjusted operating income rose by 20 per cent to $1.7 billion, driven by strong results across the company?s segments. Adjusted operating Income margins were 21 per cent versus 18 per cent in the 2010 quarter. Operating income increased by 17 per cent to $1.7 billion in the quarter, while operating income margins were 20 per cent compared to 18 per cent in the 2010 quarter.

In the Networks segment (Turner Broadcasting and HBO) revenues for the year grew by nine per cent ($1.2 billion) to $13.7 billion, with increases of six per cent ($495 million) in subscription revenues, 12 per cent ($453 million) in ad revenues and 21 per cent ($202 million) in content revenues.

The increase in subscription revenues resulted mainly from higher domestic rates and international subscriber growth.

The growth in ad revenues was driven by strong pricing domestically, sports programming, including the NCAA Division I Men?s Basketball Championship events, and growth at Turner?s international networks, including acquisitions.
Content revenues benefited from higher sales of HBO original programming and higher licensing revenues at Turner.

Adjusted operating income increased by six per cent ($266 million) to $4.4 billion, reflecting higher revenues partly offset by increased expenses, including higher programming and marketing costs, as well as increased costs related to international growth. Programming costs grew by 12 per cent, due primarily to higher expenses for sports and original programming and international growth.

In the film segment for the year, revenues rose by nine per cent ($1 billion) to $12.6 billion, led by the strong theatrical and home entertainment performance of ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2? and the home entertainment performance of ?Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1?.

Revenues also benefited from a stronger videogames release slate, higher television license fees, new subscription video-on-demand agreements and the favourable effect of foreign exchange rates.

Key 2011 videogame releases included Batman: Arkham City, Mortal Kombat 9 and several Lego titles. Television license fees increased due mainly to improved worldwide syndication, which included the off-network availability of ?The Big Bang Theory?. This growth was offset in part by fewer home video releases and difficult theatrical comparisons to the prior year.

Adjusted operating income increased by 16 per cent ($174 million) to $1.3 billion, as a result of higher revenues.

Operating income increased by 14 per cent ($156 million) to $1.3 billion. In 2011, Warner Bros. grossed $4.7 billion at the worldwide box office, led by the top grossing film, ?Harry

Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2?. Warner Bros. also became the first studio to exceed $4 billion in global box office for three consecutive years.

For the 2011-2012 broadcast television season, Warner Bros. has produced more than 30 scripted primetime series, making it the leading supplier of primetime programming to the broadcast networks.