Turner Broadcasting Posts Earnings of $40 Million : Media: Operating profit of company’s cable and entertainment units jumps in third quarter.

Turner Broadcasting System Inc., which has agreed to a buyout by Time Warner Inc., said Tuesday that it earned $40 million in the third quarter as operating profit jumped at its cable networks.

The earnings of 14 cents a share for the July-September quarter contrast with a loss of $5 million, or 2 cents a share, for the period last year. The 1994 figure included a $25-million charge against earnings for the early repayment of debt.

The Atlanta-based media company’s revenue for the quarter rose to $1 billion from $739 million in the same period last year.

Turner’s performance was boosted by $199 million in syndication fees, largely for reruns of “Seinfeld.”, which is produced by a Turner subsidiary. That revenue was offset somewhat, though, by losses from some theatrical movies.

News division revenue, buoyed for months by Cable News Network’s coverage of the recently completed O.J. Simpson murder trial, was up 8% in the quarter compared to a year ago.

“Highlighting our third-quarter results was the exceptional performance by our entertainment and news networks, where an average 18% increase in viewership fueled growth in operating profits of 23% for the networks,” TBS Chairman Ted Turner said.

The proposed $7.5-billion Time Warner-Turner merger is awaiting regulatory and shareholder approval.

Turner Class A stock closed up 25 cents at $26.125 on the American Stock Exchange.