Time Warner Shares Enjoy 6% Pop After Q1 Profit, Revenue Beat Expectations

Time Warner Inc. shares gained nearly 6% in premarket trade after the company posted improved profit and revenue for the first quarter that came in above Wall Street's expectations. The media and entertainment company said on Wednesday net income rose to $1.21 billion, or $1.51 per share, compared with $970 million, or $1.15 per share during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.49 per share, above the FactSet consensus of $1.29 per share. Revenue for the quarter rose to $7.31 billion, compared with $7.13 billion and above the $7.29 billion FactSet consensus. The media and entertainment company said that was thanks to growth at Turner and HBO, but was offset by a 3% decline at its Warner Bros. film studio. Warner Bros.'s "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" has grossed roughly $863.12 worldwide so far, but faced strong first-quarter comparisons in last year's "American Sniper" and "The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies." Revenue at HBO saw an 8% increase due to a 5% bump in subscription revenue, while revenue at Turner rose 7% thanks to a 11% bump in subscription revenue and a 5% increase in advertising revenue. Shares of Time Warner are up more than 13% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index, which is up almost 1%.