Big movies boost Disney results

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Robert Iger had two big box office successes to talk about regarding the performance of The Walt Disney Company in its fiscal second quarter. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter increased 45% to $0.48 from $0.33 in the prior-year quarter. However, broadcast revenues were up only 1% and operating income took a 24% hit.


“The incredible box office performance of Disney’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and acquisition of Marvel, whose ‘Iron Man 2’ has grossed $334 million in global box office in its first two weeks, clearly show the benefits of investing in high quality branded content,” said Iger. “With the economy showing signs of improvement, we’re confident our strategy is the right one to provide consumers the best in entertainment while building long-term value for our shareholders.”

In all, Disney’s media networks enjoyed a 6% increase in revenue to $3.844B. Cable accounted for $2.412B of that for a 9% gain, and broadcast kicked in $1.432B, accounting for the aforementioned 1% increase.

All told, media operating income was flat. Although cable picked up 3% to $1.183B, broadcast fell 24% to $123M. The company said O&O television stations did well, but that the hit came at ABC Television Network, which suffered from decreased advertising sales and higher production costs.