Box Office Success Offsets AOL Time Warner Losses

Box Office Success Offsets AOL Time Warner Losses

Massive first quarter losses at AOL Time Warner, $54.24 billion or $12.25 a share, were partially offset by gains at Warner Bros thanks to films such as Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings, enabling the company to beat analyst projections.

The weak online advertising market contributed to a fall of 13% in total advertising and commerce revenues. At AOL Europe, advertising and commerce revenue fell by 31%. Warner Music reported a 5% rise in revenue to $947 million and the films division reported EBITDA at 60% higher than 2001 resulting from success at the box office.

Publishing also posted strong results, EBITDA was up 28% to $145 million boosted by the improving advertising market and the acquisition of IPC.

The company has now revised earnings growth forecasts for the year to 5-9%, downgraded from the 8-12% forecast made by AOL Time Warner in January.

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