Time Warner tops earnings estimates on cable channels, studio

[NEW YORK] Time Warner Inc posted second-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates, driven by cable networks and the movie studio.

Profit excluding some items was US$1.25 a share, New York- based Time Warner said Wednesday in a statement. Analysts had predicted US$1.03, based on the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes's strategy has been to create original hit shows and acquire sports programming rights to demand higher fees for its TV channels from pay-TV distributors. Mr Bewkes has spun off assets in recent years, shrinking Time Warner down to its Turner cable channels, HBO and the Warner Bros movie studio.

The stock had risen 2.6 per cent this year through Tuesday, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 1.7 per cent.

The company has also been seeking new ways to sell its content online, distributing its Turner channels - CNN, TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network - on Dish Network Corp's Sling TV service and introducing a Web-only version of HBO in April.

Mr Bewkes is trying to further expand the company and prop up the stock price after rejecting a US$75 billion buyout offer last summer from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox Inc.

BLOOMBERG