Time Warner posted its second-quarter earnings today, showing a 34% decline in profit. The entertainment conglomerate owns the Warner Bros. movie studio, HBO and Turner cable networks, Time Inc. magazines and the AOL Internet portal - which is to be spun off by the end of the year.
The company reported a second-quarter earnings of $519 million ($.43 per share), which is down from $792 million ($.66 per share) a year ago. Excluding items, Time Warner was anticipating $.45 per share in the most recent quarter, and analysts expected a drop as far as $.37 per share. Revenue fell 9% to $6.81 billion, a tad less than the forecasted $6.97 billion.
The networks segment of Time Warner fared the best with sales growing 5% to $3 billion. Its filmed entertainment sank 9% to 2.3 billion as DVD sales slowed. The publishing unit saw a 26% decline in revenue, and AOL in specific dropped 24% to $804 million.