BENGALURU: Time -Warner Inc (Time-Warner) reported three per cent y-o-y growth in revenue in the quarter ended 30 June 2014 (Q2 of 2014, or the current quarter) to $6.8 billion. The company’s adjusted operating revenue grew 17 per cent to $1.6 billion.

Turner, Home Box Office (HBO) and Warner Bros segments contribute to Time Warner’s numbers.  Revenues were boosted y-o-y by Turner and (HBO) by 9.5 per cent and 16.5 per cent respectively, while Warner Bros showed a 2.4 per cent y-o-y de-growth in the current quarter.

Turner results

Turner reported revenue of $2,750 million in the current quarter as compared to $2,627 million in the corresponding quarter of last year. Turner’s subscription revenue grew 8.7 per cent y-o-y to $1,323 million in the current quarter from $ 1,217 million in the quarter ended 30 June 2013 (year ago quarter), while its advertising (ad) revenue grew 27 per cent in the current quarter to $1,284 million from the year ago quarter’s $1011 million. Turner’s content revenue in the current quarter grew 25.4 2 per cent to $89 million from the year ago quarter’s $71 million. The segment reported 15.3 per cent in adjusted operating revenue in the current quarter to $940 million, as compared to the year ago quarter’s $815 million.

 HBO results

HBO’s revenue in the current quarter grew to $1,417 million from $1,216 million in the year ago quarter.  Its subscription revenue grew 9.7 per cent in the current quarter to $1,411 million from $1,040 in the year ago quarter. The segment’s content revenue grew 55.6 per cent to $274 million from $176 million in the year ago quarter. HBO’s adjusted operating revenue in the current quarter grew 22.7 per cent to $552 million from $450 million reported for the year ago quarter.

Warner Bros

Warner Bros revenue fell 2.4 per cent to $2,870 million in the current quarter from the year ago quarter’s $ 2941 million. Warner Bros theatrical product reported 5.5 per cent lower revenue at $1,494 million in the current quarter as compared to the $1,581 million reported for the year ago quarter. The segment’s television product grew by 5.9 per cent in the current quarter to $1,052 million as compared to the year ago quarter’s $993 million.

Y-o-y, Warner Bros current quarter’s content revenue shrank 2.3 per cent to $2,731 million from $2,795 reported during the year ago quarter. Warner Bros advertising and subscription revenues were almost flat at $19 million and $33 million, respectively, in the current quarter as compared to the year ago quarter’s $18 million and $32 million, respectively.

Time Warner completed the Time Warner cable spinoff last month and says it has repurchased 51 million shares for $3.5 billion year-to-date through 1 August 2014. The Time Warner board has authorised an additional $5 billion of share repurchases.

Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, “We are off to a very strong start in 2014, with results that demonstrate both the returns we can achieve on our investments in great storytelling and the growth potential of our businesses. Excluding Time Inc., which we expect to spin off as an independent publicly-traded company this quarter, we grew first quarter Revenues by 10%, Adjusted Operating Income by 12 per cent, and Adjusted EPS by 26 per cent. In the first quarter, Warner Bros. picked up where it left off after a record-breaking year in 2013, with The LEGO Movie launching yet another franchise for us and leading all releases at the domestic box office. Combined with its promising slate of movies for the rest of the year and strong lineup of TV shows to be unveiled at the upfronts, Warner Bros. is positioned to have another excellent year in 2014. Home Box Office continues to be red hot, led by the debut of True Detective, the most-watched freshman series in HBO’s history. And the Season 4 premiere of Game of Thrones on April 6 drew HBO’s largest audience since The Sopranos finale. Turner also made history by bringing the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four to cable for the first time ever. The success of the NCAA Tournament also helped TBS maintain its position as ad-supported cable’s #1 network in primetime among adults 18-34 and 18-49. It also showcased the importance and vibrancy of our TV Everywhere initiatives, with a more than 40 per cent increase in streams for our March Madness Live service over last year. Another standout at Turner was Adult Swim, which again finished the quarter as the #1 ad-supported cable network in total day for Adults 18-34. And CNN reaffirmed that it is the place the world goes for authoritative coverage during major news events, with delivery in its key demographic up over 50 per cent in March. Further demonstrating our commitment to shareholder returns, during the quarter we returned almost $1.3 billion to our shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends.”