Pixar Net Triples; Informal Talks Begin With Disney
By Nick Wingfield
472 words
05/06/2005
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2005, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
Pixar Animation Studios said first-quarter earnings and revenue roughly tripled on strong home-video sales of its latest film, "The Incredibles." Pixar also said it had begun informal conversations with Walt Disney Co. that could lead to a new distribution deal with the Hollywood studio.
Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs told analysts yesterday he has had a "few nice conversations" with Robert Iger, who will take over as Disney chief executive from Michael Eisner in late September, though he indicated the two companies haven't begun serious talks about a new deal. Mr. Jobs has had a contentious relationship with Mr. Eisner, and the changing of the guard at Disney has led to speculation Pixar and Disney could repair their fractured relationship.
"We've been waiting to see what would happen at Disney," Mr. Jobs said. "As Bob assumes control of the company, we will probably figure out fairly quickly whether there's some common ground or not."
A Disney spokeswoman confirmed that Mr. Iger has had recent conversations with Mr. Jobs, but declined to elaborate.
Relations between Pixar, of Emeryville, Calif., and Disney broke down last year after the parties failed to reach a new distribution deal under which Pixar would receive a bigger share of the profits from its films. Disney has a longstanding deal to co-finance and distribute Pixar films through the release of "Cars," the next Pixar film, which is due out in June 2006.
Pixar and Disney also had disagreements over how and whether to make sequels to past Pixar hits. Disney has rights to make sequels to films such as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" on its own, even if it doesn't reach a new deal with Pixar.
Pixar reported net income for the quarter ended April 2 of $81.9 million, or 67 cents a share, compared with net income of $26.7 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. The results easily exceeded both Pixar's own forecast of earnings of as much as 48 cents a share, and the consensus estimate of 47 cents a share from analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. All per-share figures reflect a 2-for-1 stock split that occurred April 19.
Revenue rose to $161.2 million from $53.8 million, well ahead of the $116 million expected by analysts, according to Thomson First Call. "This, once again, demonstrates the enormous power of this business model, if you can make great animated films," said Lowell Singer, an analyst at SG Cowen & Co.
The strong results sent Pixar shares up 4.8% to $48.50 in after-hours trading. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, Pixar shares were down 42 cents to $46.27.
By Nick Wingfield
472 words
05/06/2005
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2005, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
Pixar Animation Studios said first-quarter earnings and revenue roughly tripled on strong home-video sales of its latest film, "The Incredibles." Pixar also said it had begun informal conversations with Walt Disney Co. that could lead to a new distribution deal with the Hollywood studio.
Pixar Chief Executive Steve Jobs told analysts yesterday he has had a "few nice conversations" with Robert Iger, who will take over as Disney chief executive from Michael Eisner in late September, though he indicated the two companies haven't begun serious talks about a new deal. Mr. Jobs has had a contentious relationship with Mr. Eisner, and the changing of the guard at Disney has led to speculation Pixar and Disney could repair their fractured relationship.
"We've been waiting to see what would happen at Disney," Mr. Jobs said. "As Bob assumes control of the company, we will probably figure out fairly quickly whether there's some common ground or not."
A Disney spokeswoman confirmed that Mr. Iger has had recent conversations with Mr. Jobs, but declined to elaborate.
Relations between Pixar, of Emeryville, Calif., and Disney broke down last year after the parties failed to reach a new distribution deal under which Pixar would receive a bigger share of the profits from its films. Disney has a longstanding deal to co-finance and distribute Pixar films through the release of "Cars," the next Pixar film, which is due out in June 2006.
Pixar and Disney also had disagreements over how and whether to make sequels to past Pixar hits. Disney has rights to make sequels to films such as "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" on its own, even if it doesn't reach a new deal with Pixar.
Pixar reported net income for the quarter ended April 2 of $81.9 million, or 67 cents a share, compared with net income of $26.7 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier. The results easily exceeded both Pixar's own forecast of earnings of as much as 48 cents a share, and the consensus estimate of 47 cents a share from analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. All per-share figures reflect a 2-for-1 stock split that occurred April 19.
Revenue rose to $161.2 million from $53.8 million, well ahead of the $116 million expected by analysts, according to Thomson First Call. "This, once again, demonstrates the enormous power of this business model, if you can make great animated films," said Lowell Singer, an analyst at SG Cowen & Co.
The strong results sent Pixar shares up 4.8% to $48.50 in after-hours trading. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, Pixar shares were down 42 cents to $46.27.
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