Posted on 01/28/2007 12:01:31 PM PST by abb
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Time Warner, the world's largest media company, is expected to post a decline in fourth-quarter profit next week on decreased revenue at AOL and difficult comparisons with a prior-year quarter that included the smash-hit movie "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
Reporting results on Wednesday, Time Warner (TWX)is expected to earn 23 cents a share on revenue of $11.1 billion. A year ago, the company earned 25 cents a share on an adjusted basis, on revenue of $11.89 billion.
CIBC World Markets analyst Jason Helfstein trimmed his fourth-quarter earnings forecast on Time Warner Friday, cutting the estimate to 23 cents a share from 26 cents, citing "weaker than expected page views at AOL, lower box office receipts [than the prior year], and a more conservative stance on [cable] Networks margins."
Helfstein notes that according to data from the Comscore Internet audience measurement service, AOL's page views totaled 44.4 million in the fourth quarter, down 9% from the third quarter and representing the largest decline in the last three quarters.
Time Warner Chairman Dick Parsons has frequently pointed to AOL as the linchpin in boosting Time Warner's stock price, which until recently was mired in the $18-$20 range. The company has worked hard to convert AOL from a dial-up service provider to a business primarily driven by advertising revenue from the AOL.com portal.
Broadband usage has been on the rise, as more consumers want to experience rich media content online, so AOL.com has made video a cornerstone of its strategy to attract page views. It has a large library of video assets, including episodes of vintage Warner Bros. Television programs on its In2TV service, a video-on-demand destination at AOL.com
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Ping
The CNN and AOL lists appear broad, but when you rotate the list 90 degrees you see the edge view..... a thin line. There is almost nothing there.
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