The Walt Disney Company Reports Second Quarter Earnings

[keithlewis]

BURBANK, Calif., May 11, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Walt Disney Company /quotes/comstock/13*!dis/quotes/nls/dis (DIS 35.20, +0.07, +0.20%) today reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter and six months ended April 3, 2010. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the second quarter increased 45% to $0.48 from $0.33 in the prior-year quarter. EPS for the current and prior-year quarter include the items discussed in the following paragraph. Excluding these items, EPS increased 12% to $0.48 from $0.43 in the prior-year quarter.

The current quarter included restructuring and impairment charges, a gain on the sale of an investment in a pay television service in Central Europe, and an accounting gain related to the acquisition of the Disney Stores in Japan, which collectively had no net impact on EPS. The prior-year quarter included restructuring and impairment charges which had a $0.10 per share impact on EPS.

For the six month period, diluted EPS was $0.93 compared to $0.78 in the prior-year period. In addition to the items discussed above, EPS for the current six months included restructuring and impairment charges and a gain on the sale of an investment in a television service in Europe which were recorded in the first quarter of the current year while the prior-year period included a gain on the sale of our investment in two pay television services in Latin America. Excluding these items, EPS increased 12% to $0.95 from $0.85 in the prior-year six months.

"The incredible box office performance of Disney's Alice in Wonderland and acquisition of Marvel, whose Iron Man 2 has grossed $334 million in global box office in its first two weeks, clearly show the benefits of investing in high quality branded content," said Robert A. Iger, President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. "With the economy showing signs of improvement, we're confident our strategy is the right one to provide consumers the best in entertainment while building long-term value for our shareholders."

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