Time Warner profits boosted by box office hits

Sex and the City 2 was a hit at the box office and for Time Warner

Time Warner has reported a 7% rise in net profit, helped by box office hits including Sex and the City 2.

The firm announced a profit of $562m (£353) for the three months to June.

However, its former partner AOL revealed a loss of $1.06bn largely because of write-downs on the sale of its social networking site Bebo and a drop in advertising revenue.

The two companies merged in 2001, but split last year after Time Warner decided to spin off AOL.

AOL continues to be a hit by a fall in advertising revenue, which was down 27% on a year ago.

By contrast, advertising revenue improved for the second quarter in a row at Time Warner's publishing division, which includes Time and People magazines, and at its networks division, which includes Turner Broadcasting and HBO.

"Our continued investments in high-quality content across the company continue to pay off," said Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes.

"Turner's original programming strategy contributed to the quarter's strong advertising growth."

Revenue at its filmed entertainment segment rose 8%, led by strong movie ticket sales of Sex and the City 2 and Clash of the Titans.