Time Warner to cash in on movie

Time Warner Inc, the world's largest media company, may say second-quarter sales increased on box-office gains from Sex and the City, new phone customers and higher advertising sales at its cable-television networks.

Sales may have gained 4 percent to $11.4 billion, the average of 12 analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Net income probably declined 22 percent to $827.8 million, or 23 cents a share, from a year earlier, when discontinued operations boosted results, according to the estimates.

The AOL Internet unit, which is separating the shrinking Internet-access division from its advertising business, and falling revenue at Time Inc probably held back growth in the period, said Michael Morris, a UBS AG analyst in New York. Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest US cable-television provider, and the TV networks division that houses TBS and CNN may have increased sales faster than the overall company.