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 Disney shares rose 4.4 percent to $98.23 in after-hours trading on
Tuesday. The stock reached record highs in recent months on strong
performances across its TV networks, theme parks and movie studio.
Each of its five divisions reported higher operating income for the
quarter, ended Dec. 27.
At Disney's parks unit, operating income rose 20 percent to $805
million as more people visited its U.S. parks and increased spending
on tickets, merchandise, food and drinks.
Chief Executive Bob Iger told CNBC that there had been no
discernable impact on parks from a measles outbreak that health
officials have said began at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in
December.
Disney now plans to open its Shanghai Disneyland theme park in the
spring of 2016, Iger told analysts. The company had earlier set a
target of a late 2015 opening but decided to add attractions to the
park, a $5.5 billion joint venture with China's state-owned Shanghai
Shendi Group.
"Frozen" toys sold particularly well during the holiday shopping
quarter, helping Disney's consumer products unit earn a $626 million
profit, up 46 percent from a year earlier.
Disney will fuel the franchise with "Frozen Fever" a seven-minute
film that features a new song and will be shown in theaters ahead of
its live action "Cinderella" movie, to be released on March 13.
"We actually believe it's going to generate some more buzz for
'Frozen,' and that should generate more buying in terms of consumer
products," Iger said.
Disney's movie studio recorded a 33 percent jump in profit, driven
by home entertainment sales of "Frozen," Marvel's "Guardians of the
Galaxy" and "Maleficent."
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Profit at cable networks fell 2 percent, hurt by higher programming
and production costs and lower advertising revenue at sports channel
ESPN. Broadcasting unit ABC recorded a 35 percent increase in
operating income from higher affiliate fees and program sales.
Net profit attributable to Walt Disney rose to $2.18 billion, or
$1.27 per share, in the quarter, from $1.03 per share a year
earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.27 per share.
Revenue rose 8.8 percent to $13.39 billion.
Analysts had expected a profit of $1.07 per share on revenue of
$12.87 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
(Reporting By Lehar Maan in Bengaluru and Lisa Richwine in New York;
Editing by Peter Henderson, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Robin Paxton and
Steve Orlofsky)
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