TV boosts Disney
The earnings amounted to 37 cents a share, well ahead of the 31 cents expected on Wall Street for the second fiscal quarter ending April 1.
Revenues increased 2.5% from the same period to 8.03 billion dollars for the media-entertainment powerhouse known for its film, theme park and television operations.
"Disney’s ongoing commitment to creative and operational excellence is evident in our strong second quarter results," said Robert Iger, president and chief executive.
"At the same time, the strategic initiatives we pursued during the quarter help position us for future creative success, new opportunities to reach consumers with our products, and long term value creation for our shareholders."
Some analysts said prior to the earnings release they expected Disney’s earnings to possibly dip during the second quarter, as the company struggles to catch up with rough comparables in its home video business as well as a possible growth slowdown for the company’s cable networks and consumer products units.
The studio entertainment division saw a 39% drop in operating income to 147 million dollars.
The media networks division, including cable and broadcast television, saw a 20% gain in operating profit to 969 million dollars. That included 809 million dollars from cabler, thanks to growth at ESPN.
Disney’s parks and resorts saw 17% growth in operating income, delivering 214 million dollars.
Other analysts said Disney should be on track to meet its goals of double-digit earnings growth for the fiscal year, which ends in September. The company just finished its merger with Pixar, and will begin to realise gains from that buyout during the current quarter and into the fourth quarter.
"Disney is less dependent on ad recovery, especially (with the) expected completion of the Pixar deal in May, which we believe could drive growth not only at studio, but across all businesses," Goldman Sachs? Anthony Noto said in his note.
"We expect the June 9 release of ?Cars? to be an important data point to monitor."
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