53 % Profit Drop for Time Warner

Time Warner reported yesterday a profit decline of 53 percent for the third-quarter. Sales rose on box office from “Harry Potter” movie.

The company which owns CNN, Warner Bros., HBO and Time Magazine gained in three months $1.09 billion in comparison with $2.32 billion from last year.

Earnings fell from $2.3 billion, 57 cents per share, at $1.1 billion, 29 cents. Sales increased 8.6 percent to $11.7 billion exceeding Wall Street expectations of $11.33 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

The increase in film studio revenue of 33 percent helped for the losses of the AOL Internet department.

The company’s shares were up 2 cents at $18.35 in afternoon trading in New York after they had fallen 16 percent this year.

Time Warner said that it plans to earn $1.07 a share this year.

The profit of the film unit doubled to $268 million on tickets sales from movies like “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” “Rush Hour 3” and “Hairspray,” and DVD sales of “300.” Sales increased to $3.2 billion.

AOL’s profit dropped 24 percent to $295 million in the third quarter due to a 38 percent fell in sales to $1.2 billion.

In this quarter the company lost 851,000 Web-access subscribers.

On Wednesday AOL agreed to buy Quigo Technologies, an online advertising company, this being its fourth one this year. The acquisition will help AOL improve the control of ads on websites.

On October 15 AOL said that it would dismiss 2,000 employees. Time Warner is moving AOL’s offices from Dulles, Virginia to New York as to be closer to advertisers.

The results came after the company announced the new chief executive, President Jeffrey Bewkes.