Time Warner profit dips, but ad sales surge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc <TWX.N> posted a decline in first quarter profit, but revenue rose a better-than-expected 6 percent alongside a surge in advertising sales at its cable TV networks.

Time Warner, which owns cable networks such as CNN and TBS, as well as magazines and a movie studio, reported net income of $651 million, or 59 cents per diluted common share. This compares to net income in the prior year quarter of $725 million, or 62 cents per diluted common share.

Revenue rose 6 percent to $6.7 billion, the media company said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch; Editing by Derek Caney)