By Rishika Sadam
(Reuters) - Time Warner Inc, which is being bought by AT&T, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by the success of its movies "Kong: Skull Island" and "The LEGO Batman Movie" in the first quarter.
These movies together grossed over $870 million globally, as of April 30, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo. This boosted revenue from Warner Bros - which includes Time Warner's movie business - by 8.2 percent to $3.37 billion. (http://bit.ly/2mjTDHK)
Like other media companies, Time Warner has been struggling to keep its viewers hooked to its channels as viewers flock to online streaming services such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc's Prime.
However, Time Warner's Home Box Office (HBO) has managed to keep audiences glued to its original shows such as the hugely popular "Game of Thrones". The latest season of the show is set to premiere in July this year.
Revenue from HBO rose 4.1 percent to $1.57 billion in the first quarter ended March 31.
Shares of Time Warner, which also owns CNN and Cartoon Network, were little changed in premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock had risen nearly 32 percent in the past 12 months, upto Tuesday's close of $99.33.
"Home Box Office shined in the quarter highlighted by our limited series "Big Little Lies," Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said on Wednesday.
The seven-part miniseries, based on the 2014 novel of the same name, stars Oscar-winning actresses Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, who are also executive producers of the show.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.66 per share, beating the average analysts' estimate of $1.45 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net income jumped 17.3 percent to $1.42 billion, or $1.80 per share.
Revenue rose 5.8 percent to $7.74 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $7.67 billion.
Time Warner said on Wednesday it was on track to close its merger with AT&T before the end of 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump opposed the $85.4 billion deal during his election campaign.
(Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sayantani Ghosh)
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