Pixar financials

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Pixar's Profit, Revenue Decline
By NICK WINGFIELD
March 8, 2006

Pixar Animation Studios, in what is likely its last earnings report as an independent public company, reported a sharp drop in earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter as its business slowed between movie releases.

The Emeryville, Calif., company, which has agreed to be acquired by Walt Disney Co., reported net income for the three months ending Dec. 31 of $30.9 million, or 25 cents a share, down 44% from $55.2 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year ago period. The results exceeded Pixar's own forecast for earnings of between 13 cents and 17 cents a share.

Revenue for the quarter, at $55.6 million, was about half the $108.9 million Pixar reported for the comparable period the year before. For the full year, Pixar eked out modest growth, with earnings of $152.9 million, up from $141.7 million the year before. Full year revenue was $289.1 million, up from $273.5 million the year before.

The company's relatively weak performance reflects a delay in the release of Pixar's next animated film, "Cars," due out in theaters this June instead of its originally scheduled release date of November 2005. The company announced the switch in release dates more than a year ago, making the shift to take advantage of a more favorable reception for its films among moviegoers during summer vacations.

Most of Pixar's revenue in the quarter came from television licensing rights, home video sales and consumer product licensing fees for "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles," the company's two most recent movies.

Disney announced a plan to acquire Pixar in January to help improve its flagging animated film efforts. The companies expect to close the deal, which was valued at $7.4 billion at the time of the announcement, in the summer. Because its time as an independent company is coming to a close, Pixar didn't provide financial forecasts or hold a conference call with Wall Street analysts Tuesday.

Write to Nick Wingfield at nick.wingfield@wsj.com

 

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Pixar Reports Most Profitable Year Ever
Tuesday March 7, 7:28 pm ET
By Gary Gentile, AP Business Writer
Pixar Animation Studios Reports Most Profitable Year Ever in 2005, Despite Drop in 4Q Earnings

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In what is likely its last report as a public company, Pixar Animation Studios Inc. said Tuesday it had its most profitable year ever, although profit dropped in the fourth quarter.

In January, Pixar agreed to be acquired by The Walt Disney Co. in an all-stock deal valued at $7.4 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and a vote of Pixar shareholders. The acquisition is expected to close in the next few months.

The animation studio, based in Emeryville, reported net income of $30.9 million, or 25 cents per share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005, compared to $55.2 million, or 45 cents in the same period last year.

Revenue fell by more than half to $55.6 million compared to $109 million in the same period last year.

The results beat estimates from analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who had forecast earnings of 18 cents per share.

Pixar did not release a movie in theaters in 2005. Fourth-quarter earnings came from revenue generated by its library titles, including "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles."

Last year's fourth quarter included theatrical revenue from its hit "The Incredibles."

"2005 marks Pixar's 10th year as a public company and, I'm pleased to report, our most profitable year ever," Pixar Chairman and Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a statement.

Because of the company's pending combination with Disney, Pixar did not hold a conference call with analysts.

Pixar said it earned $52 million in the fourth quarter from film revenue, including worldwide television licensing and home video sales of "Finding Nemo" and consumer product sales and home video revenue from "The Incredibles."

Revenue from the licensing of Pixar's proprietary computer animation software contributed $3.7 million in the fourth quarter.

For the full year, Pixar reported net income of $153 million, or $1.24 per share, compared to $142 million, or $1.19 per share in 2004.

Revenue for 2005 rose slightly to $289 million from $273 million in 2004.

At the end of the year, Pixar had just over $1.04 billion in cash, which will go to Disney after it acquires Pixar.

Analysts had expected full-year earnings of $1.17 per share.

The company also revealed in a regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped an informal inquiry into a previous earnings report.

Last August, Pixar said it had received a request from the SEC for information regarding retailer returns of DVDs of "The Incredibles" that had not sold as well as expected. Those returns caused the company to miss its second-quarter earnings projections.

Pixar's next film, "Cars," will be released in June. It is the last film produced under its distribution deal with Disney, under which the two companies split the production costs and profits. The first film fully financed by Pixar, "Ratatouille," will be released in 2007.

The results were released after the market closed Tuesday. Shares of Pixar rose 22 cents to close at $64.03 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares fell 3 cents in after hours trading.

http://www.pixar.com

 

[Connor002]

Pixar's Profit, Revenue Decline

Pixar Reports Most Profitable Year Ever

Heh.. kind of paradoxial...


Well, as for the 4th quarter revenue, not much more can be expected considering no new movie or DVD release has occurred. It should bounce back...

 

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Heh.. kind of paradoxial...

Not at all....which is a big problem for most companies.

Consider this. DisneyQuest in Chicago made money.....it made a profit. Most people would think that any division that makes a profit is good....as profit goes to the bank.....and money in the bank is good.

Well, not really.

People on Wall Street look at things from a different point of view.

(below is a made-up situation to prove a point)
Let's say Disney as a whole makes 25 cents profit on every dollar they take in. Now, DisneyQuest only makes a profit 9 cents on each dollar spent. If WDW closes Disneyquest, it will now make 26 cents on every dollar it takes in, even though it will be taking in less dollars overall.

Now, the next year, Disney sells off all assets, and begins to sell paperclips. It only sells $1 worth of paperclips, but it makes 27 cents of profit on that $1 of revenue.

WDW just had its most profitable year ever.

Yes....it is stupid....so very stupid.