LOS ANGELES – Walt Disney Co. (DIS) posted a 30 percent rise in quarterly earnings Wednesday driven by its studio, which produced the sleeper movie hit "The Pacifier" (search) and distributed the animated blockbuster "The Incredibles."(search)
Net income rose to $698 million or 33 cents per share from $537 million or 26 cents per share a year earlier, the theme park and entertainment conglomerate said.
The quarter included a $61 million benefit from Euro Disney theme park debt restructuring and a $32 million charge to write down an investment.
Revenue rose to $7.8 billion from $7.2 billion.
Wall Street expected earnings of 32 cents per share before items and revenue of $7.8 billion, according to analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.
Shares fell 37 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $26.58 on the New York Stock Exchange after the early release of the news, which a Disney spokeswoman said followed an accidental release of an internal email that contained earnings information.
"The numbers look in line to slightly better than projections," Sanders Morris Harris analyst David Miller said. "Park numbers look very strong ... "Everyone knew the studio numbers were going to be big because of the numbers for 'The Incredibles."'
Chief Executive Michael Eisner (search) said the company was "well on the way" toward double-digit earnings growth. Disney's repeated, long-term goal is double-digit growth through at least 2007.
The studio, led by the success of "The Pacifier" and DVD sales of Pixar Animation Studios Inc. (PIXR) movie "The Incredibles," posted a 65 percent rise in income to $253 million.
Parks income rose 3 percent $193 million, Media Networks income rose 3 percent to $725 million and Consumer Products earnings rose 48 percent to $111 million.
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