Walt Disney Co. Reports Quarterly Profit Increase of 3%

Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that its profit rose 3% in the October-December quarter, led by a 15% growth in the company’s film business that was driven by the box-office smash “Toy Story.”

The entertainment company earned $496 million, or 93 cents per share, in its fiscal first quarter, beating by a penny a share the average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. Disney earned $483 million, or 91 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Disney said it took a loss of $22 million reflecting its equity share of Euro Disney’s operating results. Disney owns a 39.2% stake in the theme park operator.

Euro Disney said it almost halved its first-quarter loss, to $11.3 million, as sales rose by a better-than-expected 17%, even after strikes shut down public transport to the theme park outside Paris for three weeks.

Europe’s largest theme park operator attributed the revenue gain to increased park attendance and occupancy rates at its six hotels.

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Digital Equipment Corp.’s fiscal second-quarter profit jumped nearly eightfold as the computer maker continued to regain financial strength.

The company earned $148.8 million, or 91 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 30. That compares with $18.9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Digital’s results exceeded Wall Street analysts’ forecast of 88 cents a share. The performance marks the fifth straight quarterly profit for Digital after five quarters of losses in 1993 and ’94. It lost $2.2 billion in fiscal 1994.

However, Texas Instruments Inc. said its fourth-quarter earnings rose a lower-than-expected 55%, pushing down the company’s shares amid investor concerns that the computer chip boom is waning.

The company’s net income rose to $291 million, or $1.50 a share, from $188 million, or 99 cents, a year ago. Analysts expected Texas Instruments to earn $1.59 a share.

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St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. reported a 48% increase in fourth-quarter profit, citing cost-cutting efforts and strong sales from its pharmaceutical business.

The chemical maker earned $80 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with $54 million, or 51 cents, in the same period a year ago.

The results included a $166-million after-tax gain from the sale of its styrenics plastics business, and a $125-million charge for closing various facilities and cutting jobs.

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Lockheed Martin Corp.’s fourth-quarter net income rose 15% as increased sales of space and building materials and continued cost cutting offset lower military sales.

The world’s largest aerospace company’s net income rose to $310.7 million, or $1.56 a share, from $270 million, or $1.35 a share, in the year-ago period.

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In the airline sector, United Airlines’ parent reported weaker fourth-quarter results but Continental Airlines posted a profit for the period, reversing a huge loss.

UAL Corp., the Chicago-based holding company for United Airlines, said profit from operations increased to $98 million, or $2.95 a share, from $67 million, or $1.57, a year ago. The results were below the average estimate of $3.01 a share by 11 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Houston-based Continental Airlines Inc. earned a record $41 million, or $1.27 a share, contrasted with a loss of $523 million, or $19.66, a year ago. The year-ago quarter reflected a charge of $447 million, or $16.80 a share, to cover the cost of grounding airplanes and closing facilities. Per-share earnings exceeded the average forecast of 78 cents from 11 analysts surveyed by IBES International Inc.

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Two regional phone companies serving the East, Bell Atlantic Corp. and Nynex Corp., both reported increased fourth-quarter profits.

Bell Atlantic’s profit from operations rose to $395.4 million, or 90 cents a share, from net income of $314.9 million, or 72 cents, a year ago. Results were 2 cents better than the average estimate of 88 cents a share from 20 analysts surveyed by Zacks.

New York-based Nynex said profit from operations rose to $378.7 million, or 88 cents a share, from $339.1 million, or 80 cents, a year ago. Results exceeded analysts’ expectations of 86 cents a share.

At a Glance:

Salomon Inc. said it earned $168 million in the fourth quarter, bolstered by a turnaround in its trading business. The earnings of $1.42 a share contrast with a loss of $157 million, or $1.65 cents a share, a year ago. . . . In the pharmaceutical sector, Merck & Co. said October-December earnings grew 11% to $857.8 million, or 70 cents a share.