Disney profit gets boost from movies, parks, products

(Reuters) - Media company Walt Disney Co's quarterly profit beat Wall Street expectations, helped by strong results from its movie studio, theme parks and consumer products division.

Net income rose to $2.2 billion in the third quarter ended on June 28, up 22 percent from the year-ago period, the company said on Tuesday. Diluted earnings per share reached $1.28, beating analysts' average forecast of $1.17 in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey.

Revenue rose to $12.47 billion from $11.58 billion.

Shares of Disney held steady after closing at $86.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Operating income at Disney's media networks division was flat at $2.3 billion and declined 7 percent for the unit's cable networks segment, due to a decrease at sports juggernaut ESPN. ESPN fell in part from higher programming and production costs and the absence of ESPN UK, which had been sold, Disney said.

At the movie studio, operating income more than doubled to $411 million, thanks to the success of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Maleficent" in theaters and home entertainment sales for "Frozen."

The theme parks unit reported operating income of $848 million, up 23 percent from the prior year.

Operating income for consumer products rose 25 percent to $273 million due to increases at Disney retail stores and in its licensing business.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Lehar Maan; Editing by Maju Samuel and Richard Chang)

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