Time Warner's Stock Climbs After Profit Beat Expectations, Dividend Raised

Time Warner Inc.'s stock climbed 1.3% in premarket trade Wednesday, as the media company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, a raised dividend and a new stock buyback program helped offset a revenue miss. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $857 million, or $1.06 a share, from $718 million, or 84 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.06 was above the FactSet consensus of $1.01. Revenue fell to $7.08 billion from $7.53 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $7.54 billion. Revenue from its Turner and HBO units rose mostly in line with expectations, but Warner Bros. revenue fell more than expected, due primarily to lower theatrical revenue. The company said it raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to 40.25 a share, and authorized a new $5 billion share repurchase program. The stock has declined 9.4% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has dropped 11%.