Disney first fiscal quarter earnings beat estimates

LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Company announced its first quarter earnings results for fiscal 2019 on Tuesday as the US entertainment giant is in the process of purchasing the bulk of 21st Century Fox.

Beating the expectations of analysts, Disney reported earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, ending December 2018, decreased 3 percent to $1.84 from $1.89 in the prior-year quarter. The initial estimate of Wall Street analysts was 1.55 per share.

The company also reported revenue of $15.3 in the quarter, which was a slight decrease compared with the 15.35 billion in revenue in the prior-year quarter.

According to the company, media networks revenues for the quarter increased 7 percent to $5.9 billion and segment operating income increased 7 percent to $1.3 billion.

Cable networks revenues for the quarter increased 4 percent to $4 billion and operating income decreased 6 percent to $743 million.

Broadcasting revenues for the quarter increased 12 percent to $1.9 billion and operating income increased 40 percent to $408 million.

Direct-to-Consumer and international revenues for the quarter decreased 1 percent to $918 million and segment operating loss increased from $42 million to $136 million.

The company said that its parks, experiences and consumer products revenues for the quarter increased 5 percent to $6.8 billion and segment operating income increased 10 percent to $2.2 while studio entertainment revenues for the quarter decreased 27 percent to $1.8 billion and segment operating income decreased 63 percent to 309 million.

To strengthen its lead in US media and entertainment industry, Disney is in the last step to finish its 71 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox by the end of June. The company is also ready to launch its own streaming service in 2019.

"After a solid first quarter... we look forward to the transformative year ahead, including the successful completion of our 21st Century Fox acquisition and the launch of our Disney+ streaming service," said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company in a press release.

"Building a robust direct-to-consumer business is our top priority, and we continue to invest in exceptional content and innovative technology to drive our success in this space," he added.