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CHICAGO (AFX) - Time Warner Inc. was down during a lackluster session for media and entertainment companies Wednesday.
Time Warner reported 59% growth in first-quarter net profit Wednesday on increased revenue generated by its film and television studios, cable-television networks and cable systems, but that revenue total fell short of most Wall Street expectations.
Revenue declined 7% in the first quarter at AOL, the Internet service and content provider that the media giant has identified as the lynchpin to the revival of its dormant stock price.
Time Warner shares were down 30 cents, or 1.7%, to $17.12.
Among other diversified entertainment conglomerates, Viacom and were marginally higher, while Sony declined.
Though Time Warner reported strong cable operations results, coming on the heels of a similarly upbeat report from Comcast Corp. , cable shares were mixed. Comcast shed 1.5% to $29.70; Mediacom Communications was down 1.6% at $6.62; and Cablevision Systems rose 0.6% to $19.86.
Elsewhere, Warner Music Group has spurned an offer from Britain's EMI Group that would have created a recorded music company with artists including Coldplay, Madonna, Gorillaz and Green Day. Warner Music shares were up 2.6% at $28, while EMI's shares dipped 4% in London.
In the radio sector, Clear Channel Communications said first-quarter profit rose to $96.8 million, or 19 cents a share, from $47.9 million, or 9 cents a share.
Excluding gains, the company earned 14 cents a share, compared to 12 cents a share.
Revenue rose to $1.5 billion from $1.45 billion a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson First Call, on average, expected it to post a profit of 13 cents a share on revenue of $1.51 billion.
Clear Channel said it continues to be "optimistic" about its outlook for the rest of the year. The stock was up 1.1% at $29.39.
Meanwhile, Cox Radio reported first-quarter earnings of $14 million, or 14 cents a share, up from a year-ago profit of $13.8 million, or 14 cents a share.
Revenue slipped 1% in the latest three months to $97.6 million from $98.6 million in the same period a year earlier.
The Atlanta radio broadcaster said its stations in Orlando, Miami, Tampa, Honolulu and Greenville delivered solid growth in the quarter.
The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 11 cents a share in the March quarter.
Cox Radio shares were up 6.8% at $13.89. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see
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