Profits at media giant Time Warner climbed beyond $500 million in the third quarter of 2003 but the performance of the company’s online unit continues to be a cause for concern.
The group said yesterday that revenues were up 4% to $10.3 million in the three months to September with the cable and networks divisions showing marked improvement. Net income came to $541 million, up from just $57 million in the same period a year earlier.
“Taken together, our businesses are delivering very healthy year-over-year growth, and we are confident that our company will finish this year in a position to accelerate growth in 2004,” said chairman and chief executive Dick Parsons.
Time Warner recently dropped AOL from its name (see AOL Time Warner Set For Name Change) but the travails of the internet wing continue to haunt the corporation. Online advertising revenues fell by a third in the reported quarter and the division lost almost 700,000 subscribers.
AOL now has 24.7 million members, 2 million less than a year ago, and the parent company has warned that ad revenue could be down by as much as 45% in 2003.
The results announcement was also overshadowed by a report in the New York Times that Parsons and former chairman Steve Case have been subpoenad by the Securities & Exchange Commission as part of its ongoing investigation into accounting practices at AOL (see AOL Time Warner Under Accounts Scrutiny).
