Walt Disney Company said last night that its second-quarter profit rose 30% from a year earlier, lifted by an improving picture at its television networks and theme parks.
Disney said net income rose to $698m, or 33 cents a share, in the second fiscal quarter ended April 2. That topped Wall Street forecasts of a profit of 32 cents. Revenue rose 9% to $7.83 billion.
'It is very gratifying to see our company continue to achieve impressive growth,' said chief executive Michael Eisner, who is stepping down later this year.
'The second quarter's strong results are the latest demonstration that, across the company, our management team continues to effectively execute on its strategic plans. As we anticipated, last year's tremendous momentum has continued into 2005, bringing us well on the way toward another year of double-digit earnings growth for our shareholders,' he added.
Television network revenue rose 7% to $3 billion, with operating earnings in the division up 3% to $725m, paced by higher advertising revenue at the ABC television network. The unit's revenue increase also reflects better ad sales and higher fees from cable and satellite operators at the cable powerhouse ESPN.
Theme parks revenue soared 26% to $2.10 billion, as increased guest spending and hotel occupancy at Walt Disney World and the consolidation of Euro Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland drove the improvement. Profit in the division increased 3% to $193m.
Studio Entertainment revenue rose 5% to $2.3 billion, driven by higher domestic DVD sales and lower theatrical production write-offs. Top DVD sellers in the period included the animated film 'The Incredibles,' produced by Pixar. That unit's profit soared 65% to $253m.
