Disney profits up on theme parks

8 May 2012 Last updated at 21:20 GMT The movie John Carter has recorded one of the biggest losses in cinema history Walt Disney's quarterly profits have beaten analyst expectations, despite the losses sustained by the studio's epic flop John Carter.

Net income in the second quarter rose 21% to $1.1bn (£681m) from the same period last year.

Revenues at its parks and resorts jumped 10%, driven by the US parks as well as those in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

But revenues at its studio decreased 12% to $1.2bn "reflecting the performance of John Carter".

"We're incredibly optimistic about our future, given the strength of our core brands," said Disney chief executive Robert Iger.

He cited the record opening of the superhero film The Avengers, which has made more than $700m globally so far.

Revenues at its media networks jumped 9% to $4.7bn in the quarter due to growth at its sports cable network ESPN.

Last month, the head of Disney film-making studio, Rich Ross, resigned after John Carter's performance.

The media giant said that it will lose $200m on John Carter, about a military captain transported to Mars, making it one of the biggest flops in cinema history.

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Apple and Samsung combine to collect 99% of mobile phone profits

Apple and Samsung have combined to collect an astonishing 99 percent of mobile phone operating profit. Individually, Apple accounted for 73 percent while Samsung amassed the remaining 26 percent. HTC mustered 1 percent of operating profits in Q4 2011, as reported by Asymco.

The results are directly in line with Cupertino’s recent earnings call where the company posted a net profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share. Unsurprising enough, iPhone sales were responsible for the majority of profit in the quarter, a figure that rose 88 percent year over year.

While Apple and Samsung are riding the current wave of success, HTC and longtime manufacturers Nokia and RIM are seeing their profits continue to dwindle away. Five years ago, Nokia had a profit share that was nearly the size of Apple’s but the roles have since been reversed with Nokia barely making a blip on the proverbial radar now. HTC never really had a huge market share but what they did have is also slipping away.

As Asymco notes in their report, it’s not a case of the top two companies taking a fixed “share of profit” simply because available profits aren’t a constant. It’s the same logic behind the flawed idea that the rich are taking all of the money in the economy, leaving less for the middle class and poor. The company report highlights that Apple instead created a “vast new pool of profits” that came mostly from carrier premiums from the iPhone 4S.

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Posted in: Apple,collect,combine,mobile,phone,profits,Samsung