Disney Profit Tops Street, But Misses On Revenue

(RTTNews) - Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Tuesday reported a drop in profit for the first quarter, as revenues declined 3 percent reflecting lower advertising revenues at cable networks. Earnings of Disney trumped Wall Street estimates, but revenues fell short of expectations.

Burbank, California-based Disney's first-quarter profit dropped to $2.48 billion or $1.56 per share from $2.88 billion or $1.74 per share last year. Last year's bottom line included a $0.13 per share gain related to Disney's investment in A+E Television Networks.

Excluding special items, earnings for the quarter declined to $1.55 per share from $1.63 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.50 per share.

Revenues for the quarter decreased 3 percent to $14.78 billion from $15.24 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $15.26 billion.

"We're very pleased with our financial performance in the first quarter. Our Parks and Resorts delivered excellent results and, coming off a record year, our Studio had three global hits including our first billion-dollar film of fiscal 2017, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," said CEO Robert Iger. "With our proven strategy and unparalleled collection of brands and franchises, we are extremely confident in our ability to continue to drive significant value over the long term."

In 2016, Disney owned the global box office. Last year, Disney became the first movie studio in history to gross more than $7.5 billion in a single calendar year worldwide. Disney ruled the world box office with five movies that topped the top ten worldwide list: Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory, Zootopia, Rogue One and The Jungle Book, with four of them generating over a billion in revenues each.

Media networks segment's revenues dropped 2 percent to $6.23 billion, while parks and resorts units increased 6 percent to $4.6 billion. Studio entertainment revenues increased 7 percent to $2.5 billion and consumer products & interactive media division revenues decreased 23 percent to $1.5 billion.

DIS closed Tuesday's trading at $109.00, down $0.57 or 0.52% on the NYSE. The stock further dropped $1.75 or 1.61% in the after-hours trade.