Time Warner Inc, which has agreed to be acquired by telecom company AT&T Inc, on Wednesday raised its full-year outlook and reported quarterly profit topping Wall Street expectations, powered by higher box office and cable network revenues. Despite the strong results, shares of Time Warner, which owns HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network and the Warner Bros film studio, slipped 0.8 percent to $87.54 in New York Stock exchange trading.
Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes on the earnings call on Wednesday said he expects the transaction to close by the end of 2017, "if not sooner."
Revenue from Warner Bros, the company's biggest unit by revenue, rose 6.7 percent to $3.4 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, driven by the success of movies "Suicide Squad" and "Sully."
Superhero movie "Suicide Squad," which premiered in early August, brought in around $750 million world-wide, executives said.
Revenue at the HBO unit, home to "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective," rose 4.3 percent to $1.43 billion.
The company's net income rose to $1.47 billion, or $1.86 per share, from $1.04 billion, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 9.2 percent to $7.17 billion, topping analyst expectations of $6.98 billion.
Time Warner raised its 2016 full-year adjusted EPS outlook to $5.45-$5.55 per share, excluding a tax benefit, from previous guidance of $5.35-$5.45.