Time Warner Inc. (TWX) Wednesday reported a profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, compared with a loss last year that included a heavy loss from discontinued operations and asset impairment charges. On an adjusted basis, the company's earnings rose year-over-year. Time Warner said its Board has increased regular quarterly cash dividend and updated its stock repurchase program. The company also provided adjusted earnings outlook for fiscal 2010.
The company said year-ago quarter results have been recast to reflect the results of operations of Time Warner Cable Inc. and AOL Inc. as discontinued operations, the adoption of recent accounting guidance pertaining to non-controlling interests and participating securities and the 1-for-3 reverse stock split that became effective on March 27, 2009.
Time Warner completed the separations of Time Warner Cable on March 12, 2009, and AOL on December 9, 2009.
The company's fourth-quarter net income attributable to Time Warner Inc. shareholders was $627 million or $0.53 per share, compared with a loss of $16.03 billion or $13.41 per share in the prior-year period.
Income from continuing operations was $614 million or $0.51 per share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $6.52 billion or $5.46 per share for the prior-year quarter. Adjusted income from continuing operations rose to $651 million from $228 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.55, up from $0.19 per share last year.
Time Warner also reported quarterly total revenues of $7.32 billion, up 2% from $7.16 billion in the comparable period a year ago.
For the preceding third quarter, Time Warner posted net income attributable to Time Warner Inc. shareholders of $661 million or $0.55 per share on revenues of $7.14 billion.
Commenting on the fourth-quarter results, Time Warner Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes said, "We posted strong growth in Adjusted EPS, despite the difficult economy. Our studio and networks achieved record profits, while investing even more in programming and production."
For fiscal 2009, the company reported fiscal 2009 net income attributable to Time Warner Inc. shareholders of $2.47 billion or $2.07 per share, compared with a loss attributable to Time Warner Inc. shareholders of $13.40 billion or $11.23 per share a year ago. Income per share from continuing operations was $1.74, compared to a loss per share from continuing operations of $4.27 in the previous year. On an adjusted basis, the company's income per share from continuing operations was $1.83, an increase of 29% over last year. Full-year revenues were $25.79 billion, 3% lower than $26.52 billion reported in fiscal 2008, reflecting lower revenues at the Publishing and Filmed Entertainment segments.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a profit of $1.79 per share on revenues of $25.57 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
In a separate press release, Time Warner announced that its Board has approved a 13.3% increase in the company's regular quarterly cash dividend to $0.2125 per common share, payable in cash on March 15 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 28. On an annual basis, Time Warner's regular cash dividend on its common stock will grow to $0.85 per share from $0.75 per share.
On August 1 2007, Time Warner had announced a $5 billion stock repurchase program. As of January 1, 2010, approximately $1.0 billion is remaining on this repurchase authorization. Time Warner stated that its board on January 28 increased this amount to $3 billion.
Moving ahead, Time Warner expects its fiscal 2010 growth rate in adjusted income per common share from continuing operations to be in the mid-teens, off a 2009 adjusted earnings per share base of $1.83.
TWX closed Tuesday's trading at $28.51 on the NYSE, up $0.46, on a volume of 8.996 million shares. In pre-market trading, the company's shares dropped 1.79% or $0.51 to $28. For the 52-week period, the company's shares traded in a range of $17.81 - $32.85.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.