Before the bell on Wednesday, media and entertainment giant Time Warner Inc. (TWX) reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit, beating Wall Street views, despite a decline in total revenue.

The New York-based company said its fourth-quarter net income climbed to $1.17 billion, or $1.21 per share, up from $773 million, or 76 cents per share, in the year earlier period.

Adjusting for one-time items, earnings came in at $1.17 per share versus an EPS of 94 cents a year ago. According to Thomson Reuters, the consensus analyst view was that TWX would earn $1.10 per share in the fourth-quarter.

Revenue for the quarter fell slightly from $8.19 billion a year earlier to $8.16 billion. This missed the analyst expectation of $8.25 billion in revenue. Growth in the Networks segment, which includes TBS, TNT, and HBO, helped offset a decline in Film and TV Entertainment and Publishing revenue.

In addition to the fourth-quarter earnings report, Time Warner’s Board of Directors announced an increased to its regular quarterly dividend. The dividend, which is payable in March 15 with an ex-dividend date of February 26, will increase 11% from 26 cents per share to 28.75 cents per share.

Looking forward to 2013, TWX expects adjusted EPS growth to be in the low double digits from 2012′s EPS of $3.28. Analysts are expecting the company to earn $3.65 per share in 2013.

Time Warner shares were up $1.41, or +2.82%, during pre-market trading on Wednesday. In the trailing twelve months the stock is up +30.82%.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Time Warner (TWX) will now have a dividend yield of 2.30% based on last night’s closing price of $49.96 and the company’s updated annualized dividend payout of $1.15 per share.

Time Warner Inc. (TWX) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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