PRAGUE (Bloomberg) — Central European Media Enterprises Ltd., the owner of television networks in six east European countries, said first-quarter sales jumped 24 percent, above analyst estimates. The shares had their biggest gain ever.Total sales rose to $147.9 million from $119.8 million, the Bermuda-registered company said yesterday in a filing. That beat the $143.4 million median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Revenue at TV Nova in the Czech Republic rose 27 percent and by 31 percent at the Romanian unit.

The stock gained 6.8 percent to 1,999 koruna in Prague today, its biggest increase since the shares began trading in June 2005. The shares have risen 37 percent this year, valuing the company at 68.8 billion koruna ($3.3 billion), compared with the 7.7 percent gain in the NTX Index of 30 companies in Central and Eastern Europe.

The company’s net loss narrowed to $250,000 from $18.3 million in the same period last year because of a net decline in currency losses. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 22 percent to $40.1 million.