Walt Disney beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line
Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.91; revenues rose 8.5% year/year to $12.31 bln vs the $12.23 bln consensus.
* We had an incredibly strong first quarter, delivering a 32% increase in adjusted earnings per share and double-digit increases in operating income in all business segments," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. Media Networks revenues for the quarter increased 4% to $5.3 bln and segment operating income increased 20% to $1.5 bln. * Operating income at Cable Networks increased $325 mln to $1.3 bln for the quarter due to growth at ESPN, higher equity income from A&E Television Networks (AETN) and, to a lesser extent, an improvement at the domestic Disney Channels. * Operating income at Broadcasting decreased $84 mln to $178 mln for the quarter due to higher programming costs, lower program sales and decreased advertising revenue, partially offset by higher affiliate revenues and lower general and administrative expenses. * Parks and Resorts revenues for the quarter increased 6% to $3.6 bln and segment operating income increased 16% to $671 mln. Operating income growth for the quarter was primarily due to increased guest spending at our domestic parks and resorts, which reflected higher average ticket prices and food, beverage and merchandise spending. * Studio Entertainment revenues increased 23% to $1.9 bln and segment operating income increased 75% to $409 mln. Higher operating income was due to an increase in worldwide theatrical distribution results and, to a lesser extent, increases in domestic home entertainment and television/subscription video on demand (TV/SVOD) distribution. * Consumer Products revenues increased 11% to $1.1 bln and segment operating income increased 24% to $430 mln. Higher operating income was due to increases at its Merchandise Licensing and Retail businesses. * Interactive revenues for the quarter increased 38% to $403 mln and segment operating income increased $46 mln to $55 mln. Higher operating income was due to an increase at our console games business driven by the success of Disney Infinity in the current quarter compared to Epic Mickey 2 in the prior-year quarter and growth from our Japan mobile business.