Walt Disney Co. Reports 1st-Quarter Profit Increases 3%

Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that its profits 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 per 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 Euro Disney.

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

Europe’s largest theme-park operator said it trimmed its net loss to 57 million French francs ($11.3 million) from 109 million francs a year earlier. The company 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 per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 30. That compared with $18.9 million, or 7 cents per share, in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year.

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

However, Texas Instruments Inc. said its fourth-quarter earnings rose a less-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 profits, citing cost-cutting efforts and strong sales from its pharmaceutical business.

The chemical maker earned $80 million, or 65 cents per share, compared with $54 million, or 51 cents per share, 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 company reported weaker results, but Continental Airlines posted a profit that reversed 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, compared 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 profits.

Bell Atlantic Corp.’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 Corp. 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 from the loss it posted a year ago. The earnings of $1.42 a share compared 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 per share . . . . Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said profit from operations rose to $646 million, or $1.28 a share, from $586 million, or $1.15, a year earlier . . . . Warner-Lambert Co. saw quarterly profits fall 11% to $123 million, or 91 cents per share.

Atlanta-based paper and forest products maker Georgia-Pacific Corp.’s net income rose to $197 million, or $2.17 a share, from $169 million, or $1.89, a year ago . . . . Weyerhaeuser Co. said net income rose to $251 million, or $1.25 a share, for the 14-week quarter ended Dec. 31, from $188.9 million, or 91 cents, for 13 weeks ended Dec. 25, 1994 . . . Union Camp Corp. said net income rose to $83.2 million, or $1.20 a share, from $58.3 million, or 83 cents, a year earlier.