Los Angeles -
Disney on Tuesday posted second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts, helped by the home video sales of blockbuster movies Frozen and Thor: The Dark World.
Net income in the three months through March jumped 27 percent to $1.92 billion, or $1.08 per share, from $1.51 billion, or 83 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Excluding charges for foreign exchange losses and restructuring, adjusted earnings came to $1.11 per share, beating the 96 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue grew 10 percent to $11.65 billion, trumping the $11.25 billion analysts expected.
The biggest surprise was the strength of the movie studio, which saw revenue increase by 35 percent to $1.8 billion and operating income more than double to $475 million.
“It was a good clean beat from the studio,” said Brett Harriss, an analyst with Gabelli & Company. “All the other divisions were solid.”
Revenue from its TV business rose 4 percent to $5.13 billion and operating income rose 15 percent to $2.13 billion. The company said audience ratings were down at both ESPN and ABC, but it got higher prices for commercial time. Harriss took that as a “bullish” sign for future advertising sales.
Shares of Burbank, California-based The Walt Disney Company rose 28 cents to $81.31 in after-hours trading following the earnings release. Earlier, shares fell 19 cents to close the regular session at $81.03. - Sapa-AP