Disney lifted by theme parks and consumer products

It may have lacked a blockbuster to compare with Frozen but Walt Disney's quarterly profits still sailed past analyst estimates thanks to gains at its theme parks and consumer products division.

The company will next year open its latest park in Shanghai but has a string of potential blockbusters in its pipeline, with new releases coming from its Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm brands.

Bob Iger, chief executive, told an investor call that The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was released this month, had already generated $650m at the box office worldwide.

Disney also has two Pixar movies - Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur - lined up for this year and will release the seventh Star Wars film in December. Disney has already released two Star Warsteaser trailers and Mr Iger said that the reaction "was unlike anything we've ever seen".

He added that the company was carefully managing its marketing of the film to capitalise on global growth in cinema attendance. "There's a whole generation out there that isn't as steeped in Star Wars lore and there are [theatrical] markets that weren't as developed 10 years ago when the last films came out. China, for instance, was barely developed and is now the number two market in the world," he said.

Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise when it bought Lucasfilm for $4bn in 2012 and has commissioned six films. Tom Staggs, Disney's chief operating officer - and the leading candidate to replace Mr Iger when he retires in 2018 - said that Disney would launch a new range of Star Wars merchandise at a "global event" on September 4.

Mr Iger also said that Disney was exploring new distribution options for its television networks. Several operators have launched new "bundles" of channels that can be streamed digitally without having to acquire a cable television subscription.

Disney has made ESPN, its sports channel, available on Sling TV, a new service from satellite TV group Dish. But it has declined to offer its channels to a new bundle from Sony. "Simply put, [Sony] wasn't to our advantage financially," he said. "I haven't seen many packages that are good for consumers."

Net income increased from $1.9bn to $2.1bn while revenues rose from $9.6bn to $10.6bn. Earnings per share increased from $1.08 to $1.23, beating the consensus analyst estimate of $1.11.

Consumer products was the company's standout performer, with revenues rising 10 per cent to $971m and operating income increasing 32 per cent to $362m thanks to sales of Frozen and Avengers toys and merchandise

The shares were up 0.9 per cent in afternoon trading at $112.06.

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