Disney Works its Magic in 4Q Earnings

Media and entertainment companies have shown strong performances this year, with consumer spending data showing substantial increases in discretionary purchases, air travel and tourism, and the film industry bouncing back to clock in a record-breaking summer for box office sales. The Walt Disney Company (DIS) reported its fiscal year fourth quarter (4QFY13) results on October 30, 2013, with earnings per share (EPS) and revenues beating analyst estimates by 1.45% and 1.58% respectively.

Earnings Overview

Reported revenues for the quarter (which ended September 28) were $11.56 billion, up 7% from $10.78 billion last year, while diluted EPS was $0.77, a 13% uptick from $0.68 in 4QFY12. Net income for the quarter increased 12% to $1.39 billion on the back of strong revenues in some of the company’s core segments like Parks and Resorts, and Studio Entertainment.
The company also reported selected statistics for the full fiscal year. Revenues for FY13 increased 7% year-over-year (YoY) to a record $45 billion, and net income for the full fiscal year was $6.13 billion, up 8%.

Read More : DIS

Powered by parks, Walt Disney Co. sets sales, profit records

Walt Disney Co. reported another quarter of double-digit profit growth Thursday, boosted by higher summer prices for tickets and hotel rooms at Walt Disney World and the company's other theme-park resorts.

The results capped a fiscal year in which Burbank, Calif.-based Disney turned a profit of $6.1 billion, an 8 percent jump from 2012. Sales across the media-and-entertainment giant rose 7 percent for the year to $45 billion, another company record.

  

"It was another great year for the company, both creatively and financially, and we remain confident that we are well positioned to continue our strong performance and drive long-term shareholder value," Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said in a prepared statement. Disney's fiscal year ended. Read more.

Studio Ghibli – The Other Disney

Founded in 1985 and made famous by Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli is the flip side of the animation coin. Their movies have entertained international audiences for decades; and they have the privilege of being the only foreign production house to have won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Chihiro Ogino: Spirited Away.

Although their strategies and ideologies differ, Studio Ghibli and Disney movies have a lot in common. But while Disney waters down the story and changes the brutal ending, Ghibli draws the storyboard in a very different way. Ponyo is a little goldfish, the daughter of a sea-goddess. She is found by a little boy who she promptly decides to spend forever with. She also has some 100+ sisters, and an overbearing father. Read more.