From: mikkelson@breakr.enet.dec.com (snopes)
Subject: Disney profits up 33% behind 'Beast', videos 
Organization: Salivation Army
Date: 26 JUL 92 13:02:12    



               Disney profits up 33% behind 'Beast', videos

   Boosted by the phenomenal success of its home video release of "Fantasia"
and "101 Dalmatians" and its theatrical release of "Beauty and the Beast," the
Walt Disney Co.'s profit acceleration continued into its fiscal third quarter
as net income climbed 33%.

   But the Burbank-based entertainment conglomerate said strong domestic theme
park results were "negatively impacted" by its 49%-owned Euro Disney SCA
amusement park in France, which opened April 12.  Disney warned investors
against expecting earnings soon from Euro Disney.

   Net income in the fiscal third quarter ended June 30 rose to $220.8 million,
or 41 cents per share, from $165.5 million, or 31 cents a share, a year ago.
The earnings per share were above Wall Street expectations for earnings of 39
cents per share, according to a survey of 20 industry analysts by Institutional
Brokers Estimates System in New York.

   Operating income was up 29% to $389.6 million from $302 million.  Revenue
was up 23% to $1.85 billion from $1.51 billion a year ago.

   Despite the strong results, Disney's Big Board stock went against Thursday's
[July 24] upbeat stock market by falling 1/4, or 0.7%, to 35 1/2.  Analysts
attributed the weakness to Euro Disney's separate announcement that it sees a
loss in its current fiscal year.

   In the latest quarter, Disney's filmed entertainment unit saw operating
income soar 70% to $134.4 million from $79.1 million.  Revenue in the unit
jumped 21% to $723.8 million from $597.1 million.

   "They've really been disciplined over the preceding 12 months or so in
bringing costs down, which is helping profitability," said Keith Benjamin, a
New York-based analyst at the Brokerage Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co.  "And 'Beauty
and the Beast' is enough to deliver strong positive comparisons for the
remainder of the company's fiscal year."

   For the nine months through June 30, filmed entertainment's operating income
surged 78% as sales rose 26%.  The company said record revenue and operating
income for the quarter and nine months reflected its animated products, both
newly produced and from its library, in the home video, theatrical and TV
markets.

   Disney has released roughly 14 million units of "Fantasia" to the video
sell-through market.  The company's "101 Dalmatians" has seen just over 11
million units released.

   Sutro & Co. entertainment analyst Dennis Forst in Los Angeles looks for
Disney's home video operations to continue showing strong results well into
next year.

   In the theme park and resorts segment, quarter operating income grew 10% to
$194.3 million from $176.5 million a year ago.  Revenue reached $890.5 million,
up 17% from the year-earlier tally of about $759 million.

   "The are like firing on all cylinders," analyst Margo Vignola at the New
York investment firm Salomon Brothers Inc. said of Disney's domestic parks.

   Attendance at both Disneyland and Disney World increased over the prior
year, the company said.

   Consumer products saw operating income grow 31% to $60.8 million from $46.5
million.  Sales in the segment increased 54% to $239.2 million from $155.5
million.  

   For the nine months ended in June, the company's overall net income jumped
28% to $593 million, or $1.11 per share, from $426.6 million, or 87 cents a
share, a year ago.  Revenue rose 23% to $5.44 billion from $4.44 billion.

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|  + David Mikkelson  Digital Equipment Corporation, Culver City, CA  USA +
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Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney