Profit at media conglomerate The Walt Disney Co. soared 89 percent in the fourth quarter, reflecting strong performance of its movies worldwide, increased attendance at its theme parks and higher revenue from its ESPN cable channel.
The Burbank-based company reported net income of $782 million, or 36 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $379 million, or 19 cents per share in the same period last year.
Revenue increased to $8.784 billion from 7.734 billion in the same period last year.
The results beat analyst expectations of 34 cents per share on revenue of $8.694 billion.
Profit rose at its studio, theme parks and media networks divisions, which includes the ABC network, but remained flat at its consumer products unit as the company increased its investment in video games.
The company also delivered a 34 percent increase in net income for the full year, driven primarily by a sharp increase in profits at its studio.
The studio gain came largely from a reduction in marketing costs this year, compared to higher costs last year for distributing a slew of Miramax films the company was obligated to release.