Time Warner Upbeat Despite a Heavy Loss : Entertainment: The media giant took an $80-million thumping in the second quarter but showed improved operating results in all five of its major lines of business.

Time Warner Inc. lost $80 million in the second quarter, but continued showing improved operating results in all five of its major lines of business.

The performance for the New York-based media and entertainment giant was attributed to such factors as the Warner Bros. hit film “Dave,” improved circulation for its magazines and music sales from such venerable artists as Rod Stewart and Eric Clapton.

As a result, Time Warner’s basic income from operations rose 10% to $673 million, from $612 million a year earlier. Those numbers--which reflect the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization--are the figures most closely watched by securities analysts.

Chief Executive Gerald M. Levin said in a statement he is pleased with the results, noting that four of the five business segments--filmed entertainment, music, Home Box Office and cable--posted record operating results before interest and taxes.

The firm’s overall net loss of $80 million on revenue of $3.3 billion--compared to a small $9-million profit on $3.1 billion in revenue a year earlier--stems largely from interest payments on the debt load taken on from the 1989 merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.

Part of the loss can be attributed to a onetime charge of $35 million incurred when Time Warner paid off early some high-cost securities, a move expected to save the company money in the long run.

Time Warner has reduced its debt to $15.5 billion from a peak of nearly $18 billion after the merger. It slashed its interest and preferred stock payments to about $320 million in the second quarter, from more than $350 million a year earlier.

The company’s results were generally in line with analyst expectations, although there were a few surprises. David Londoner, who follows the company for Wertheim Schroeder, said the company’s publishing results were surprisingly strong.

That unit earned $105 million in earnings before interest and taxes during the quarter, compared to $88 million a year earlier. The company attributed the results to improved circulation at its Time, Life and Entertainment Weekly magazines, as well as profit from the distribution of the popular children’s Barney videos.

Filmed entertainment--made up of the company’s Warner Bros. studio--posted earnings before taxes and interest of $105 million, up from $101 million a year earlier, on revenue of $835 million. Besides the presidential satire “Dave,” other Warner films in the period included “Made in America” and “Dennis the Menace.”

Time Warner’s music area earned $136 million on its basic operations, compared to $126 million a year earlier, while its cable unit earned $270 million, up from $244 million in the year-earlier period. HBO earned $57 million, up from $53 million a year earlier.

Time Warner’s filmed entertainment, HBO and the cable businesses are owned by a partnership, Time Warner Entertainment Co., that includes the Japanese firms Toshiba Corp. and Itochu Corp. In May, U.S. West Inc. agreed to pump $2.5 billion into the operation to help fund Time Warner’s digital network projects. That deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

Time Warner’s stock closed down 50 cents to $38.125 in New York Stock Exchange trading.