Walt Disney profit up 39 percent
Walt Disney Co. posted its strongest quarterly performance since Chief Executive Robert Iger took over last October, as rising box-office and theme park receipts helped boost profit 39%.
Disney's fiscal third-quarter earnings follow strong increases in each of the two prior quarters, and the Burbank media giant forecast a robust fourth quarter as ticket sales from summer blockbusters "Cars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" lift the bottom line.
Disney showed improved results across most of its business units, with the biggest turnaround at the movie studio. Until recently, live-action and cartoon units had fared so poorly that Disney laid off workers, trimmed its production schedule and bought Pixar.
Movie and television studio entertainment revenue surged 17% and turned around from a year-earlier loss in that division to an operating profit of $240 million, even before an estimated $100 million in annual savings from the job cuts takes hold. A year earlier, Disney had added expenses from the distribution of Miramax films. 
The unit was helped by sales of 18 million DVDs of the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." In its current quarter, Disney is looking forward to returns from "Cars" and "Pirates." The swashbuckling sequel has racked up $790 million at the box office worldwide, making it Disney's highest-grossing film ever.
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