LOS ANGELES: Time Warner Inc. reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as revenue from box office hit “Wonder Woman” helped offset declining ad revenue.
The media conglomerate, which is in the process of being bought by AT&T Inc. for about $85 billion, said it expects continuing declines in ad revenue this quarter in the face of the growing popularity of online TV and film services, raising concerns from some analysts.
Time Warner’s shares were up slightly at $102.58 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shareholders are set to get $107.50 in cash and AT&T stock in the deal, which is scheduled to close later this year.
Revenue from the company’s Warner Bros unit, which includes the movie business, rose 12.4 percent to $2.99 billion, topping analysts’ average estimate of $2.90 billion, according to data and analytics firm FactSet.
“Wonder Woman,” starring actress Gal Gadot, grossed about $800 million worldwide through July 31, while revenue from premium cable channel HBO, home to hit fantasy show “Game of Thrones,” rose slightly to $1.48 billion.
Excluding some items, the company earned $1.33 per share, beating estimates of $1.19 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Overall revenue rose 5.4 percent to $7.33 billion, in line with analysts’ expectations of $7.3 billion.
‘Wonder Woman’ helps Time Warner beat estimates as ad sales dip
‘Wonder Woman’ helps Time Warner beat estimates as ad sales dip
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
