Boston, MA 02/06/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) hit the ball out of the park when it announced results for its first quarter 2014 operations on February 5. Its earnings per share came in at $1.04 which was 31 percent above 1Q13 earnings and was well above the street estimate of $0.91. Its revenue for the quarter came in at $12.31 billion in 1Q, which was 8.5 percent above 1Q13 revenue. Net income for the quarter was $1.84 billion, which is 33 percent more than its 1Q13 update.
CEO Expresses Happiness
Expressing his exuberance at the strong start to the financial year, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger has been quoted to have said that, “We had an incredibly strong first quarter, delivering a 32% increase in adjusted earnings per share and double-digit increases in operating income in all business segments.”
Revenue Break Up By Segment
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) saw the biggest jump in its revenue from the interactive segment which surged up 38 percent from 1Q13 to report $403 million revenue. Studio Entertainment sector with a quarter revenue of $1.89 billion grew at 23 percent in 1Q14. The slowest QoQ growth was observed in the Media Network segment which went up by just 4 percent in 1Q14 and contributed $5.2 billion. This segment contributed the maximum 42 percent to the corporate revenue this quarter. Consumer products and Parks and Resorts which complete the entire revenue stream of the $128 billion market capped diversified entertainment giant, grew by 11 percent and 6 percent respectively, while contributing 9 percent and 29 percent of quarterly company revenue respectively.
Growth Drivers
The growth in the Interactive unit is a big plus for the firm, since it represents revenue being generated on the various websites and interactive media content that The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is attempting to grow significantly to target the younger internet literate populace from across the globe. Studio Entertainment revenue jumped up this quarter primarily on the back of huge increase in the fees for worldwide distribution for the hit movies Frozen and Thor. Consumer Products sector revenue increase is being ascribed to the increased licensing fee from the sale of “Lucasfilm, Planes, Disney Junior and Monsters University merchandise”.
