The Walt Disney Company has beaten analyst estimates for its second quarter earnings, led by growth at its theme parks along with the continued success of the
Frozen and
Star Wars IPs.
On the stock market, earnings for Disney totalled a US$1.23 (€1.08, £0.81) per share increase over the quarter – significantly higher than the US$1.10 (€0.97, £0.72) predicted by market experts. Sales for the period rose 7 per cent to US$12.5bn (€11bn, £8.2bn), higher than the projection of US$12.3bn (€1.8bn, £8bn).
Ticket prices
breaking the US$100 mark in Floridaalong with price increases in California played their part in a 24 per cent rise in profit for the quarter. In addition,
Frozen merchandise sales in-and-out of Disney theme parks drove consumer sales up a massive 32 per cent for the period. Profit for Disney’s theme park division for the quarter expanded to US$566m (€498.8m, £370.5m), with a 13 per cent rise in sales.
The release of the
Star Wars trailer also helped, with Disney’s share value
jumping US$2bn immediately following the teaser’s release. Aside from the recently released
Avengers:Age of Ultron, Disney also has a number of other blockbusters in the pipeline this year, including
Ant Man and Pixar’s
Inside Out.