Walt Disney Q3 profit meets forecasts
Media giant Walt Disney Co posted higher quarterly profit on Thursday, lifted by an increase in visitors to its theme parks and revenue gains at sports juggernaut ESPN.
The company that recently announced a blockbuster deal to buy Star Wars producer Lucasfilm reported diluted earnings per share of 68 cents. That matched expectations from Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net income for the quarter that ended in September rose 14 percent to $1.2 billion. Looking ahead, Disney faces challenges that will pressure results for its fiscal first quarter from October to December, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo told analysts on a conference call. Among them, sports rights' costs will increase by $170 million while home video sales decline by $150 million in light of tough comparisons to Cars 2 a year earlier, he said.
Those issues will not hurt full-year earnings for fiscal 2013, Rasulo said. I'm confident we will have solid earnings growth for the rest of the year, he said.
CEO Bob Iger said Disney was entering a transition year after making investments in projects such as the Cars Land expansion at Disneyland Resort in California and a new cruise ship that launched this year. The company is moving from investment mode into a more compelling growth mode, he said.
Disney plans to stimulate its growth through its $4 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm, announced on Oct. 30, and plans for three new Star Wars films starting in 2015.
Results for the just-ended quarter were driven by the
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