Profit Up 21 Percent at Disney

BURBANK: The Walt Disney Company posted a 21-percent increase in profit for its fiscal second quarter, with improved earnings at the ESPN and ABC networks and theme parks.

Quarterly net income was $1.14 billion, on revenues that were up 6 percent to $9.6 billion.

Media Networks revenues gained 9 percent for the quarter, reaching $4.7 billion, while segment operating income increased 13 percent to $1.7 billion. At the cable networks, operating income reached $1.5 billion, a gain of 11 percent, due to growth at ESPN as well as at the domestic Disney Channels. Operating income at Broadcasting grew 37 percent to $229 million, due to lower programming and production costs and higher ad revenues. The lower programming and production expenses were largely from the absence of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Revenues were up 10 percent to $2.9 billion for Parks and Resorts, with segment operating income up 53 percent to $222 million.

Studio Entertainment, however, saw a decline in revenues of 12 percent to $1.2 billion. Segment operating income fell by $161 million to a loss of $84 million. The decline was due to the poor performance of John Carter at the box office, along with the related film cost write-down.

“With 18 percent adjusted growth in earnings per share, we’re pleased with our second quarter performance,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chairman and CEO. “We’re incredibly optimistic about our future, given the strength of our core brands, Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ESPN, and ABC, and our extraordinary ability to grow franchises across our businesses, such as The Avengers, which shattered domestic box office records with a $207.1 million opening weekend for a global performance of more than $702 million to date.”