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Business News/ Companies / Disney profit jumps thanks to movies, parks, products
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Disney profit jumps thanks to movies, parks, products

Net income rises to $2.2 billion in the quarter ended on 28 June, up 22% from the year-ago period

Shares of Disney rose 15 cents in after-hours trading to $86.90 after closing at $86.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Reuters Premium
Shares of Disney rose 15 cents in after-hours trading to $86.90 after closing at $86.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. Photo: Reuters

Media company Walt Disney Co.’s quarterly profit blew past Wall Street expectations, with a muscular performance from its Captain America movie, higher attendance at US theme parks and brisk sales of merchandise tied to mega-hit Frozen.

Net income rose to $2.2 billion in the quarter ended on 28 June, up 22% from the year-ago period, the company said on Tuesday. Diluted earnings per share reached a record $1.28, beating analysts’ average forecast of $1.17 in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey.

Revenue rose to 8% at $12.47 billion.

Shares of Disney rose 15 cents in after-hours trading to $86.90 after closing at $86.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger said the company’s earnings per share for the first three quarters of fiscal 2014 were greater than any previous full fiscal year.

“Our strategy of building strong brands and franchises continues to create great value across our company," Iger said in a statement.

Operating income at Disney’s media networks division was flat at $2.3 billion and declined 7% for the unit’s cable networks segment, due to a decrease at sports juggernaut ESPN. ESPN fell in part from higher programming and production costs for Major League Baseball and the FIFA World Cup, and the absence of ESPN UK, which had been sold, Disney said.

At the movie studio, operating income more than doubled to $411 million, thanks to the success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Maleficent in theaters and home entertainment sales for Frozen.

The theme parks unit reported operating income of $848 million, up 23% from the prior year and driven by the company’s US operations. Both attendance and guest spending rose at domestic parks.

The company is drawing up plans to add a “far greater Star Wars presence" at its theme parks, Iger said, and hopes to announce details next year. He assured analysts the next Star Wars movie, Episode VII, remains set for release on 18 December 2015, despite an injury to star Harrison Ford.

Operating income for consumer products rose 25% to $273 million thanks to increases at Disney retail stores and in its licensing business for products related to Frozen, the Disney Channel, Spider-Man and Planes.

Disney’s interactive gaming unit reported its fourth consecutive quarterly profit with help from sales of its Disney Infinity toy-and-game combo. Operating income for the unit totalled $29 million.

Analysts asked Iger if he felt the need to acquire new companies to increase Disney’s scale as other media companies plan mergers.

Iger said the company felt confident Disney can “continue to mine growth from the channel properties that we own."

“We like the hand that we have," he said. Reuters

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Published: 06 Aug 2014, 09:39 AM IST
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