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Disney Rides Hit Movies to Record Earnings Per Share

1:26 PM PST 08/05/2014 by Paul Bond

UPDATED: Operating income at the conglomerate's film studio more than doubles to $411 million as "Frozen" outperforms internationally and in home entertainment.

Walt Disney reported Tuesday that it earned $1.28 per share in the most recent quarter on $12.46 billion revenue, besting the expectations of analysts on both the top line and bottom line as the conglomerate's film studio rode a wave of solid hits, including Maleficent and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Wall Street analysts had predicted Disney would post earnings-per-share of $1.16 on revenue of about $12.2 billion in its fiscal third quarter.
Disney said its earnings per share are a record for any quarter in the company's history. By that metric, the first three quarters of the fiscal year have already set a full-year record.
Disney's film unit has had remarkable success in an overall disappointing year for the box office. Frozen, released late last year, has been generating revenue for more than eight months and its $1.27 billion worldwide makes it the most popular animated movie of all time. Last week, Guardians of the Galaxy opened to $94 million domestically and $66 million internationally, easily beating expectations.
Disney said Tuesday its studio revenue rose 14 percent to $1.8 billion while that unit's operating income more than doubled to $411 million, with home entertainment for Frozen chipping in significantly, along with box office for Maleficent and the latest Captain America film.
"We're extremely pleased with these results and we are also thrilled with the spectacular performance of Guardians of the Galaxy, which holds great promise as a new franchise for our company and once again reinforces the tremendous value of Marvel," Disney CEO Bob Iger said Tuesday.
Disney Animation has Big Hero 6 scheduled for release in November and its Pixar unit has Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur coming next year. Plus, its Lucasfilm acquisition has Star Wars: Episode VII set for December of next year.
During a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Iger called footage from the upcoming Star Wars movie "spectacular" and worthy of "fan frenzy."
Iger also said that the film studio should be a "significant driver" of profit for the next five years given its "incredibly rich" pipeline of movies. "You're going to see some great results from the studio," he said.
Disney shares fell 1 percent during the regular session on Tuesday and are up 13 percent so far this year, well ahead of the 4 percent gain notched by the S&P 500. Disney shares were up as much as 2 percent after the closing bell as investors got their first look at quarterly earnings.
The company's media networks segment posted $5.5 billion in revenue, up 3 percent, though its operating income was flat at $2.3 billion. ESPN saw higher advertising rates due to FIFA World Cup soccer but the gain was partially offset by two fewer NBA finals games this quarter compared to the year-ago frame.
The parks and resorts segment showed an 8 percent rise in revenue to $4 billion and a 23 percent rise in operating income to $848 million.
Revenue at the consumer products segment was up 16 percent to $902 million and that unit's operating income rose 25 percent to $273 million.
The interactive unit showed a 45 percent increase in revenue to $266 million and $29 million in operating income, reversing a loss of $58 million a year earlier.








cinemablend

Captain America 2, Maleficent, And Frozen Drive Disney To Its Best Quarter Ever

By Gabe Toro

Some studios are trying to make great movies, trying to make profit, trying to make hits. But right now, Disney is acting completely gangsta. They've got their Disney animated fare, and completely unrelated Pixar movies. They've got Marvel completely crushing things, and they've got a savagely bombastic live-action branch of films for families. And, in their final masterstroke, they've purchased Lucasfilms, and intend to unleash Star Wars Episode VII: Bantha On The Run onto the world. But do they even need Star Wars? Because recent reports suggest that Disney is absolutely crushing it.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that Disney just made $1.28 a share from over $12.46 billion (!) in revenue, completing their biggest quarter ever. Ever! Holy crap, Disney. Save some for the other 99%, okay? This insane score was buoyed by its movie division, which just pulled some of its biggest successes in the studio's history. Which films deserve the credit?

A huge chunk of Frozen's grosses came from 2014, as the movie sped to a billion dollar global box office take, becoming the biggest animated film of all-time. It's also gone supernova on home video, grossing $242 million in DVD sales alone. Disney ain't gonna Let It Go anytime soon with this hit: the initial expectations were Tangled numbers ($591 million).

The year's biggest movie domestically is still Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Captain America: The First Avenger earned $370 million when it was distributed by Paramount, but the Disney-produced sequel added a stellar $713 million when it was released worldwide this past spring.

Finally, Disney banked on Angelina Jolie and won big with Maleficent. A solid result for the film would have been a strong half-billion in receipts, but the movie landed in the heat of summer and grossed $727 million, wiping the floor with some heavy-duty competition.

Of course, those numbers don't include Guardians Of The Galaxy, which just opened to $94 million - completely annihilating most box office prognostications. Even Need For Speed added to the House of Mouse's totals, having performed quietly in America but taking in $203 million worldwide. And it's all before Big Hero 6 hits this fall and Into The Woods lands on Christmas. Those films are part of a lighter load that Disney is taking in the back half of the year, but next year brings The Avengers: Age Of Ultron and the return of Pixar with two features, plus Star Wars Episode VII. It's good to be Disney right about now.