Disney Profit Up 24 Percent

BURBANK: The Walt Disney Company’s fiscal third-quarter profit was up 24 percent, with strong results at its theme parks and solid box-office results from Marvel’s action feature The Avengers.

Net income rose to $1.83 billion from the prior year’s $1.47 billion. Revenues were up 4 percent, from $10.67 billion to $11.09 billion, though were below analysts estimates.

Media Networks revenue increased 3 percent to $5.1 billion and segment operating income was up 2 percent to $2.1 billion. At the cable networks, operating income increased to $1.9 billion. Operating income at the broadcasting segment increased to $268 million.

Parks and Resorts revenue gained 9 percent to $3.4 billion, with operating income up 21 percent to $630 million. This was driven by increases at Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney Cruise Line and the U.S. parks and resorts.

Studio Entertainment was relatively unchanged, at $1.6 billion. Segment operating income increased to $313 million, led by the increase in worldwide theatrical results and worldwide TV distribution. The quarter included the release of The Avengers and Brave. Home-entertainment took a bit of a hit, with releases such as John Carter compared to the prior-year quarter with Tron: Legacy.

Consumer Products revenues were up 8 percent to $742 million, with segment operating income up 35 percent to $209 million.

“We had a phenomenal third quarter, delivering the largest quarterly earnings in the history of our company,” said Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “Earnings per share were up 31 percent over last year, driven by growth in every one of our businesses. We also delivered record earnings per share for the first nine months of our fiscal year, and we believe our results clearly demonstrate Disney’s unique value proposition and great potential to deliver long-term growth.”