Walt Disney Company Announces Record Revenue & Profits
The Walt Disney Company ended its fiscal year last Thursday reporting a record $7.5 billion in profit from a revenue of $48.8 billion.
That’s a hefty 22 percent increase in profit and 8% increase in revenue over their 2013 results as hit movies and robust theme park attendance combined to offset higher sports-rights costs at ESPN.
For its fourth quarter, which ended on Sept. 27, the Walt Disney Company reported a profit of $1.5 billion, or 86 cents a share, an 8 percent increase from $1.39 billion, or 77 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, per-share profit for the most recent quarter totaled 89 cents, narrowly beating analyst expectations.
Revenue totaled $12.39 billion in the quarter, a 7 percent increase, and $48.81 billion for the year, an 8 percent increase.
Walt Disney Studios provided the biggest boost in both the year and quarter, as blockbusters like “Maleficent,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier” and “Frozen” showered the conglomerate with money from the box office, home entertainment and merchandise. For the quarter, studio operating income more than doubled, to $254 million, and for the year it totaled $1.55 billion, up from $661 million in 2013.
Operating income at Disney’s theme park division climbed 20 percent in the last quarter, to $687 million, primarily because of higher ticket prices and increased food and merchandise spending at domestic parks. Disney World notched record attendance in the fourth quarter, even as rival Universal Studios introduced their Harry Potter themed expansion. On the downside though, Disneyland Paris continued to lose money; the company recently unveiled a $1.25 billion bail out plan to fix the ailing property.
Similar results next year can probably be expected as coming in the next year are “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” and a long-awaited film from Pixar, “Inside Out.” Disney also announced that it will make a fourth “Toy Story” movie, with John Lasseter, a Pixar co-founder, directing.
More information on Disney’s results can be seen here.
