LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co.(NYSE
IS - News) President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger gave an upbeat assessment of the media company's future on Thursday in his first address to Wall Street since being named the sole internal candidate in the race to succeed CEO Michael Eisner.
Iger and Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said the entertainment company expected all its divisions to increase earnings in fiscal 2005, but cautioned that Florida theme park earnings were being hit by the hurricanes that have battered the state.
Iger, Eisner's choice as next CEO who must still convince the board of directors that he deserves the top spot, gave a detailed version of the company stump speech. He promised more than a 50 percent rise in earnings before one-time charges in fiscal 2004 and double-digit earnings growth through at least 2007, driven by technology, branding and global expansion.
Television network ABC has seen hints of ratings success in the new fall season, but the Disney executives said money-losing ABC would need ratings improvement and a strong advertising market to break even in the fiscal year beginning.
"So far so good," said Iger, who updated progress on a number of initiatives.
Iger predicted that Disney's Princess line of consumer products would increase revenue by 25 percent next year from more than $2 billion this year. He promised to launch a Disney Channel in India in fiscal 2005, which starts in October, and a China Disney Channel some time thereafter.
Separately, Disney said its Miramax movie studio had signed a deal for its Dimension unit to co-finance and distribute computer animated films from San Francisco-based Wild Brain Inc., starting with a picture about comic strip penguin Opus, the hero of "Bloom County."
Disney is hoping the deal will bolster its animation output as a lucrative agreement with Pixar Animation Studios Inc.(NasdaqNM
IXR - News), whose hits include "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo," ends next year.
Staggs said a debt restructuring of troubled French theme park Euro Disney (Paris:EDLP.PA - News) would leave Walt Disney Co with more than 50 percent of the equity. That includes about 40 percent of the stock and other investments such as converted long-term lease payments.
Recent Florida hurricanes would depress earnings per share by a "strong penny" in the September quarter and also affect first-quarter results at Disney theme parks, Staggs said. Nearly two months of storms temporarily closed Walt Disney World and slowed bookings.
Visitors from far away could delay bookings and locals would be busy putting their lives in order after the storms, he said. Iger said advance bookings slowed during the storms and had since returned to a "relatively decent" level.
Shares of Disney fell 25 cents, about 1 percent, to $22.55 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites) .
IS - News) President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger gave an upbeat assessment of the media company's future on Thursday in his first address to Wall Street since being named the sole internal candidate in the race to succeed CEO Michael Eisner.Iger and Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said the entertainment company expected all its divisions to increase earnings in fiscal 2005, but cautioned that Florida theme park earnings were being hit by the hurricanes that have battered the state.
Iger, Eisner's choice as next CEO who must still convince the board of directors that he deserves the top spot, gave a detailed version of the company stump speech. He promised more than a 50 percent rise in earnings before one-time charges in fiscal 2004 and double-digit earnings growth through at least 2007, driven by technology, branding and global expansion.
Television network ABC has seen hints of ratings success in the new fall season, but the Disney executives said money-losing ABC would need ratings improvement and a strong advertising market to break even in the fiscal year beginning.
"So far so good," said Iger, who updated progress on a number of initiatives.
Iger predicted that Disney's Princess line of consumer products would increase revenue by 25 percent next year from more than $2 billion this year. He promised to launch a Disney Channel in India in fiscal 2005, which starts in October, and a China Disney Channel some time thereafter.
Separately, Disney said its Miramax movie studio had signed a deal for its Dimension unit to co-finance and distribute computer animated films from San Francisco-based Wild Brain Inc., starting with a picture about comic strip penguin Opus, the hero of "Bloom County."
Disney is hoping the deal will bolster its animation output as a lucrative agreement with Pixar Animation Studios Inc.(NasdaqNM
IXR - News), whose hits include "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo," ends next year.Staggs said a debt restructuring of troubled French theme park Euro Disney (Paris:EDLP.PA - News) would leave Walt Disney Co with more than 50 percent of the equity. That includes about 40 percent of the stock and other investments such as converted long-term lease payments.
Recent Florida hurricanes would depress earnings per share by a "strong penny" in the September quarter and also affect first-quarter results at Disney theme parks, Staggs said. Nearly two months of storms temporarily closed Walt Disney World and slowed bookings.
Visitors from far away could delay bookings and locals would be busy putting their lives in order after the storms, he said. Iger said advance bookings slowed during the storms and had since returned to a "relatively decent" level.
Shares of Disney fell 25 cents, about 1 percent, to $22.55 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites) .
