Disney Earnings Soar 52%; Parks’ Results Credited

Walt Disney Co. on Thursday reported net income of $79.7 million for the three months ended June 30, up 52% from the same period a year ago. Revenue for the third fiscal quarter rose 18% to $647.9 million. The Burbank-based company credited the results primarily to strong attendance and consumer spending at its California and Florida theme parks, Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

For the nine months ended June 30, net income increased 39% to $166.2 million on revenue of $1.7 billion. The nine-month revenue reflect a 22% increase over the same period a year earlier.

Operating income for the company’s filmed entertainment unit rose to $11.4 million, up from $4.3 million in the third quarter a year ago. But the company’s community development business reported a 41% drop in operating income to $7.5 million. The company noted that the subsidiary’s results last year included some “high margin” land and property sales.

In its filmed entertainment division, which includes movies, commercial television and the Disney Channel, operating income increased by 165% to $11.4 million for the quarter and by 13% to $48.5 million for the nine months.

The company attributed those increases to good results from its “Disney Sunday Movie” on the ABC network, foreign TV syndication and its successful film “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.”