Theme Parks, Film, Video Boost Disney Earnings 63%

Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday reported that fiscal second-quarter profit rose more than expected on record attendance at its theme parks, films such as Oscar-winner “The English Patient” and video sales of “Bambi.”

After excluding such one-time items as accounting charges and the cost of buying Capital Cities/ABC, Disney’s earnings rose 63% for the quarter ended March 31.

Disney’s net income shot up to $333 million, or 49 cents a share, from $21 million, or 3 cents a share, a year ago. The figures assume that recently acquired ABC’s results are fully reflected in both periods.

The year-earlier earnings, however, include $300 million in charges for changes in accounting practices and $225 million in costs for the acquisition of ABC on Feb. 9, 1996. Excluding the nonrecurring items, year-earlier earnings were $204 million, or 30 cents a share.

The Burbank-based company exceeded analysts’ average estimate of 45 cents a share. It’s the fourth straight quarter that Disney met or exceeded expectations.

Revenue rose to $5.48 billion from $4.99 billion.

The earnings boosted Disney’s shares 87.5 cents to a record close of $79.125 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The results show a company gaining momentum in its main businesses: theme parks, film and video. The only sour note was the lackluster performance of its ABC television network, which just posted the two lowest ratings weeks ever among the Big Three networks.

Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner cited the strong performance of creative content first among the quarter’s strengths, adding that merchandise licensing related to Disney’s films continued to grow.

“Our theme park business continues to deliver excellent results with record attendance levels, led by Walt Disney World, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary,” he said.

Theme park revenue increased 14% to $1.2 billion, while operating profit gained 17% to $236 million.

Revenue from Disney’s creative content division, which includes film and video, increased 9% to $2.8 billion, with operating income up 56% to $390 million.

Much of the profit came from the overseas receipts from blockbusters like “The English Patient,” “Ransom,” “101 Dalmatians” and “Evita.”

“The English Patient” was released by Disney’s Miramax unit and last month won nine Academy Awards, including best picture.

Revenue at the company’s broadcasting division increased 9% to $1.5 billion, while operating income rose 18% to $238 million, mostly because of reductions in program amortization and other costs related to the ABC acquisition.

For the fiscal year’s first six months, earnings for the Burbank-based company rose to $1.08 billion, or $1.58 a share, from $581 million, or 84 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $11.76 billion from $10.88 billion.