News for Aug. 09, 2006

Disney Third-Quarter Profit Rises on `Narnia,' Cable

8/09/06, 4:51 pm EST - Xoanon

Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co., the second-largest U.S. media company, said third-quarter profit jumped 39 percent to a record on surging DVD sales of the ``Chronicles of Narnia'' film and higher revenue from the ESPN cable channel. Net income rose to $1.13 billion, or 53 cents a share, from $811 million, or 39 cents, a year ago, Burbank, California-based Disney said today in a statement. Sales rose 12 percent to $8.62 billion. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger, in the job for less than a year, drove revenue increases in all four units, a sign that Disney is winning back audiences and advertisers under its new management. Disney shipped 18 million DVDs of ``The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' boosting sales at the film unit. Higher advertising rates at ESPN helped increase sale at the cable networks. [More]