Disney has ended the year on a blockbuster quarter, reporting solid growth in Q4 profit and a stock price that has climbed 35 per cent in 12 months

For the quarter ended September 28th, Walt Disney Company reported a profit of $1.39 billion, a 12 per cent increase from $1.24 billion a year earlier. Revenue climbed 7 per cent, to $11.57 billion.

Disney’s theme parks provided the biggest boost, although one resort — Disneyland Paris — continued to slump. Operating profit for the company’s parks division, which includes Disney Cruise Line, increased 15 per cent, to $571 million. At Disney Consumer Products, operating income surged 30 per cent, to $347 million.

Merchandise tied to the animated movie Planes sold particularly well.
Despite losses on The Lone Ranger, Disney Studios managed a 35 per cent jump in operating income, to $108 million with growth from subscription VoD services.

TV was a relative soft spot for Disney in the quarter. ESPN and Disney Channel as usual provided Disney with the bulk of its profit, about $1.44 billion in the quarter, but that total declined 8 percent from the same period a year ago because of $172 million worth of deferred subscriber payments at ESPN.

ABC and a related TV studio continued to struggle because of a shortage of hits reaching syndication and increased spending on scripted programming. Operating income fell 18 percent, to $158 million.

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