( dpa ) - Walt Disney Co. reported higher first-quarter revenues Tuesday thanks to strong results in its cable TV and theme parks divisions.
But the second-largest US media company posted lower profits that reflected one-time gains included last year from its sale of shares in Us Magazine and E! Entertainment Television. The company's shares rose following the announcement as the results beat analysts' estimates.
Disney said net income was 1.25 billion dollars, or 63 cents a share, compared with 1.7 billion dollars, or 79 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 9.1 per cent to 10.45 billion dollars, surpassing the 9.581 billion dollars in the same quarter a year earlier.
"We're pleased with the first quarter and we're certainly excited by the fact that the quarter was being driven by strength across virtually all our businesses," Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs told reporters in a conference call Tuesday.
The theme parks' operating income improved 25 per cent to 505 million dollars, while the movie studio continued to struggle with tough comparisons as operating income slipped 15 per cent to 514 million dollars. A year earlier, hit DVD and movie releases like "Cars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie helped pace Disney's film business.