NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Time Warner Inc., citing strength in its cable and network operations, reported a 76 percent spike in fourth-quarter profits Friday, easily topping Wall Street forecasts.

The world's largest media company, whose properties include Warner Bros., Internet provider America Online, CNN, and Time, Inc. publishing, said strong DVD, high-speed Internet and advertising sales spurred net income to $1.13 billion in the quarter, or 24 cents a share, compared to revenues of $639 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, the New York-based company said it earned 20 cents a share, while analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast profits of 16 cents, on average.

In announcing across-the-board growth for the full year, CEO Dick Parsons told analysts that Time Warner has "fully settled down" two years after posting the biggest annual loss in corporate history.

Describing 2003 as a "re-set" year, Parsons said Time Warner turned in a "solid-to-stellar" performance last year and was poised for more growth in 2005.

Investors, however, were unmoved. Company shares were trading slightly down in Friday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Citing a confidentiality agreement, Parsons did not provide new details about the joint bid Time Warner and Comcast submitted Monday for the assets of bankrupt Adelphia Communications, the country's No. 5 cable operator. Comcast and Time Warner are the country's No. 1 and No. 2 cable companies, respectively.

Some analysts have expressed concern about Time Warner's play for Adelphia. Reuters reported this week that the Time Warner-Comcast bid was around $17 billion, with Time Warner contributing more than 75 percent of it. Skeptical analysts, however, are worried about the future of the cable business, which is facing stiff competition from satellite operators, and Adelphia's eroding subscriber base.

Time Warner shares have slipped nearly 5 percent in the last month, after rising 20 percent in the last quarter of 2004. The stock hit a 52-week high in mid-December.

Parsons, however, said Friday that he thinks the cable business looks promising. "We believe we should grow our footprint if we can and we think there is an opportunity to do that" by acquiring Adelphia, he said.

Time Warner's play for Adelphia is far from a done deal. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Providence Equity Partners have also submitted an offer. There's also the possibility that Adelphia will continue as a stand-alone business once it emerges from bankruptcy.

In related news, Parsons reassured analysts Friday that Time Warner is close to resolving government probes of America Online. In December the company announced two settlements, valued at $510 million, to end separate investigations into AOL's accounting practices dating to 1999.

The existence of the probes had limited Time Warner's ability to do deals. Their resolution will give the company "more flexibility" to acquire companies and "normalized access" to the capital markets, said Parsons.

One of those settlements, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is awaiting the agency's final approval.

Parsons said that he is optimistic the SEC settlement will get the green light "in the near future."

Time Warner said the gains came across most of the company's businesses.

Only the filmed entertainment division saw earnings fall, due to difficult comparisons to the fourth quarter of 2003, when the company's New Line Cinema studio released "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" -- which ended up becoming the No. 2 movie at the box office.

Looking ahead, Parsons said the company's movie business will "probably struggle" in 2005.

Time Warner Cable posted the best gain in earnings, as operating income jumped 32 percent to $497 million.

During the year, the cable division had a $45 million loss that was associated with the completion of the launch of its Internet phone service during the quarter, but the company saw its digital cable and high-speed data offerings both post better than 20 percent revenue gains, lifting the division's overall revenue 10 percent in the quarter. Average monthly revenue per basic cable subscriber climbed 11% to about $76.

Publishing, which includes magazine publisher Time Inc., saw an 8 percent gain in operating income, excluding special items, while the networks unit, including CNN and TNT, posted a 10 percent gain.

Earnings excluding items grew 8 percent at America Online in the quarter and 17 percent for the full year, allowing the closely watched Internet service provider to top its own forecasts made three months ago of annual growth in the low- to mid-teens.

The AOL unit continued to lose customers in the period, causing a $116 million drop in subscription revenue. But a $220 million gain in advertising revenue, primarily from paid search and AOL Europe, allowed the unit to post a 1 percent revenue gain. Changes in currency exchange rates also improved revenue by $168 million in the period.

Overall revenue for the fourth quarter was up about 2 percent to $11.1 billion, roughly in line with First Call's revenue forecast.

Time Warner's overall operating earnings, excluding depreciation, amortization and special items, rose 3 percent for the quarter and 13.5 percent for the year -- roughly in line with the company's October guidance.

The company said it sees that measure of earnings growing in the "high-single digits" for 2005. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN/Money.

The company also disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it owned 5.1 million shares, or about 8 percent, of Google (Research), even after it sold a block of 1.4 million shares last August as part of Google's IPO. Time Warner's stake in the Internet search giant is worth just over $1 billion.

It also disclosed that it owns 5.4 percent of digital video recording company TiVo (Research), and that it no longer held a stake in Gateway (Research); it had owned 6.2 percent of the computer manufacturer, according to a November filing.