By Tess Stynes
Walt Disney Co. said its fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 22%
as strength across the entertainment company's segments pushed
results above expectations.
Disney's studio division continued to benefit from the animated
blockbuster "Frozen," including March's home video release of the
princess musical. The company also has benefited from recent
multibillion-dollar investments at its domestic theme parks, as
well as investments abroad.
Chief Executive Robert Iger called out the success of the
comic-book flick "Guardians of the Galaxy" from Marvel Studios,
pointing to the potential of a new franchise.
Other major media companies also will announce their quarterly
results this week, including 21st Century Fox Inc., Time Warner
Inc., and Viacom Inc. on Wednesday, and CBS Corp. on Thursday. Wall
Street likely will be watching for clues about the state of the
U.S. advertising market after broadcast and cable-television
networks alike faced lower revenue from this spring's so-called
upfront--the advance selling season for the coming fall season.
For the period ended June 28, Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney
reported a profit of $2.25 billion, or $1.28 a share, up from $1.85
billion, or $1.01 a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 8% to
$12.47 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
$1.17 and revenue of $12.16 billion, excluding the acquisition of
Maker Studios.
Disney's television unit reported revenue rose 3% to $5.51
billion and operating earnings were flat.The division's cable
segment reported operating earnings fell 7% to $1.9 billion on
declines at sports-cable network ESPN caused by higher programming
and production costs and other factors. Programming and production
costs were driven by a contractual rate increase for Major League
Baseball and the addition of FIFA World Cup soccer.
The ABC broadcast television network recorded operating income
grew by two-thirds to $354 million due to increased affiliate fees
and higher income from program sales.
The company's film unit, Walt Disney Studios, reported operating
income more than doubled to $411 million as revenue increased 14%
to $1.8 billion, driven by growth in global home entertainment and
international theatrical distribution, which received a boost from
"Frozen."
Revenue at its parks and resorts division increased 8.2% to $4
billion and operating earnings grew 23% to $848 million, driven by
growth in its domestic operations.
At the smaller consumer products segment, revenue increased 16%
to $902 million and operating income rose 25% to $273 million amid
increases at the retail and merchandise licensing businesses.
Shares were largely unchanged after hours and have increased by
nearly a third over the past 12 months.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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