'Frozen,' theme parks, ESPN ads drive Disney profits

Frozen was released nearly a year ago, but the Walt Disney Co. continues to benefit from the blockbuster hit.

The Burbank, Calif.-based media giant said Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 8% from a year ago to $1.5 billion as nearly all major business lines, including TV, film and theme parks, reported higher revenues.

Adjusted earnings per share totaled 89 cents, higher than last year and beating analysts' estimate of 87 cents.

Revenue rose 7% to $12.4 billion.

Shares fell 2.3% in after-hours trading to $89.85.

The growth rate at its film unit was particularly notable, with revenues up 18% to $1.8 billion. Its film studio released new titles that performed favorably during the quarter — Guardians of the Galaxy and Maleficent — compared to the movies that flopped last year, including The Lone Ranger.

"The increase in worldwide home entertainment was due to higher unit sales, lower per unit costs and higher net effective price resulting from the success of Frozen," it said.

Revenues at the media networks unit, its largest business division that includes cable and TV network operations, rose 5% to $5.2 billion. But the unit continues to be hampered by rising programming and marketing costs.

The cable networks' operating income fell $10 million to $1.3 billion for the quarter as ESPN paid more to get the rights to Major League Baseball, NFL, college football and World Cup soccer, it said. But rising advertising sales and higher affiliate revenue — paid by cable and satellite companies to carry its channels — helped offset programming costs.

Operating income at its broadcasting business rose by $5 million to $163 million for the quarter as new contracts with pay-TV distributors generated higher fees. The income increase would have been greater if advertising sales at ABC hadn't declined, it said.

The parks and resorts unit, which runs Disney parks, saw its revenue rise 7% to $3.96 billion.

Revenues at the consumer products unit, including merchandised items, climbed 7% to $1.07 billion.

The interactive division, which includes gaming and other online properties, reported a 9% decline in revenue to $362 million.