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‘Guardians’ Boosts Disney Earnings

Walt Disney Co. beat analysts’ profit estimates by a penny in its fiscal fourth quarter, helped along by a strong box office showing of “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The Burbank entertainment and media company reported net income of $1.5 billion (86 cents a share) for the quarter ended Sept. 27, compared to $1.4 billion (77 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 7 percent to $12.4 billion. Excluding a $73 million impairment charge related to its FCC radio licenses, adjusted earnings per share was 89 cents. Analysts on average expected net income of 88 cents on revenue of $12.4 billion, according to Thomson Financial Network. “We’re obviously very pleased with this achievement and believe it reflects the extraordinary quality of our content and our unique ability to leverage success across the company to create significant value, as well as our focus on embracing and adapting to emerging consumer trends and technology,” said Chief Executive Robert Iger, in a prepared statement. The studio entertainment division had the highest revenue increase of the five Disney business units. Revenue from feature films and home entertainment releases was $1.8 billion, an increase of 18 percent from a year earlier. The big contributors were the August release of sci-fi thriller “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which earned $765 million worldwide, as well as sales from the home-entertainment release of “Frozen.” The interactive division was the only business unit to show a decrease in revenue, dropping 9 percent to $362 million. The decrease was attributed to the timing of the release of video game “Disney Infinity 2.0,” which came just a week before the quarter ended. Shares closed up $1, or just more than 1 percent, to $92 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mark Madler
Mark Madler
Mark R. Madler covers aviation & aerospace, manufacturing, technology, automotive & transportation, media & entertainment and the Antelope Valley. He joined the company in February 2006. Madler previously worked as a reporter for the Burbank Leader. Before that, he was a reporter for the City News Bureau of Chicago and several daily newspapers in the suburban Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

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