Mixed results for Time Warner
By Peter Thal Larsen and Alison Beard in New York
Published: October 22 2003 12:52 | Last Updated: October 22 2003 12:52
Time Warner on Wednesday delivered a mixed performance in the third quarter
as different parts of the media empire reported growth while others declined.
Strong growth in the company's cable, television and film divisions was marred
by the continued malaise at its music and America Online internet units, as
well as a surprising downturn at its publishing arm.
The results demonstrate that the group is still failing to fire on all cylinders
almost four years after the disastrous merger of AOL and Time Warner. In an
attempt to draw a line under the past the company last week formally dropped
AOL from its corporate name, reverting to Time Warner.
However, the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are
still examining the company's accounting for controversial advertising deals
signed at the height of the stock market bubble. On Wednesday the New York
Times reported that the SEC planned to interview Dick Parsons, Time Warner's
chairman and chief executive, and former chairman Steve Case over their roles
in a $400m advertising deal with Bertelsmann, the German media group. Neither
the SEC nor Time Warner would comment.
Mr Parsons on Wednesday applauded the company's cash flow and its efforts at
debt reduction. Time Warner generated $3.2bn of free cash in the first nine
months of the year, and is on target to reduce its net debt to $20bn by the
end of next year.
Mr Parsons also suggested the company's profit growth next year would accelerate,
helped by an expected return to growth at America Online. "From my perspective,
things are looking much better," he said.
Overall revenues were up 4 per cent to $10.3bn in the quarter, while operating
income increased to $1.4bn from $1.31bn in the same period last year.
At Time Warner's cable unit, operating income was up due to the growth of high-speed
internet access and new services such as video on demand. Profits at the cable
TV networks, including Turner, HBO and CNN were up 17 per cent as cable continues
to lure viewers from broadcast TV.
However, profits in the publishing division dropped 25 per cent, reflecting
the effects of the difficult advertising climate on Time, Inc, the world's
largest magazine publisher. The company is also planning a restructuring of
its Time Life direct marketing unit following a sharp fall in sales.
The division, which sells compilation CDs, videos and DVDs through direct mail
and television advertisements, has cut about 100 staff positions and is streamlining
its product offerings.
Revenues in the film unit were down but profits rose due to better margins
on the sale of digital video discs. The division is gearing up for an active
fourth quarter with the planned release of the final sequels in the Matrix
and Lord of the Rings series. The music business, which is in talks about a
merger with rival EMI, slipped into the red.
On Wednesday afternoon in New York, Time Warner shares were down 43 cents at
$15.12.
时代华纳三季度业绩喜忧参半
彼得•塔尔•拉森(Peter Thal Larsen) 、艾里森•比尔德(Alison Beard)纽约报道
2003年10月23日 星期四 出版
时代华纳(Time Warner)周三发布了喜忧参半的第三季度业绩报告，原因是该媒体王国旗下一些子公司业绩增长，而另外一些则业绩下降。
音乐子公司和美国在线(American Online)网络子公司的业绩持续疲弱，加上出版业务子公司业绩出现惊人下滑，对有线业务、电视和电影子公司增长强劲的业绩造成了影响。
上述结果表明，在完成美国在线与时代华纳的灾难性合并已差不多四年后，该集团仍未能正常运作。为了告别过去，公司上周正式把“美国在线”从公司名中去除，恢复了“时代华纳”的称谓。
然而，就公司在股市泡沫高峰期签下的一些具有争议的广告协议问题，美国司法部(Justice Department)和美国证交会(SEC)仍在对公司账目进行检查。《纽约时报》(New
York Times)周三报道称，证交会计划会见时代华纳的董事长兼首席执行官迪克•帕森斯(Dick Parsons)，以及公司前任董事长史蒂夫•凯斯(Steve
Case)，询问在时代华纳与贝塔斯曼(Bertelsmann)签定的一项价值4亿美元的广告协议中，两人所扮演的角色。对此，证交会和时代华纳均不予置评。
帕森斯周三称赞公司的现金流状况以及在削减债务上所作的努力。今年前9个月，时代华纳创造了32亿美元自由现金流，同时，公司在明年年底前把净负债降至200亿美元的目标也能实现。
帕森斯还表示，预计美国在线子公司的业绩将恢复增长，得益于此，明年公司的利润将加速增长。“在我看来，局面将大大改善，”他说。
公司第三季度整体收入增加4%，至103亿美元，而营运收入从上年同期的13.1亿美元增至14亿美元。
时代华纳旗下出版业务子公司时代公司(Time Inc)的利润下降25%，表明艰难的广告环境对其造成了影响。时代公司是全球最大的杂志出版商。另外，由于直销子公司时代生活(Time
Life)的销售大幅下滑，时代华纳正计划对其实行重组。
译者/江洁
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