Walt Disney Q3 Profit Up, Buys Stake In BAMTech

(RTTNews) - Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Tuesday reported an increase in profit for the third quarter, driven largely by strong performance of studio and cable business. Both earnings and revenues trumped Wall Street estimates.

Burbank, California-based Disney's third-quarter profit rose to $2.60 billion or $1.59 per share from $2.48 billion or $1.45 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $1.62 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $1.61 per share.

Revenues for the quarter grew 9 percent to $14.28 billion from $13.10 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $14.15 billion.

Disney has enjoyed a strong box office success this year, with four of the five highest grossing movies of 2016. "Zootopia" has raked in about $341 million in the U.S and around $1.02 billion globally until now, while "The Jungle Book" has generated about $363 million domestically and another $579 million in international box office. Meanwhile, "Captain America: Civil War" is the highest grossing movie of the year until now with worldwide box office receipts of about $1.15 billion. "Finding Dory" has grossed over $871.6 million worldwide up to now.

Media networks segment's revenues grew 2 percent to $5.91 billion, while parks and resorts units climbed 6 percent to $4.38 billion. Studio entertainment revenues surged 40 percent to $2.85 billion, while consumer products & interactive media division revenues declined 1 percent to $1.15 billion.

Disney had opened its $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort on June 16 to a big rush.

Separately, Walt Disney said it agreed to by a 33 percent stake in BAMTech, a video streaming company previously formed by Major League Baseball. Disney will pay $1 billion in two installments, now and in January 2017, and has the option to acquire majority ownership in the coming years.

DIS closed Tuesday's trading at $96.67, up $0.92 or 0.96%, on the NYSE. The stock, however, slipped $1.38 or 1.43% in the after-hours trade.