Pixar Animation Studios, the other company headed by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, saw second-quarter profit shoot up 9.1 percent and net income climb to US$8.75 million or 17 cents a share, from $8.02 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier.
The company’s film revenue in the latest quarter totaled $14.7 million, which included licensing “A Bug’s Life” to ABC. The deal marked the first time that a Pixar animated feature film has been sold to network television for multiple airings, according to a CNNfn article.
“‘Monsters Inc.’ is an incredibly wonderful film,” said Jobs. “Our marketing efforts are now in full swing for its November 2nd release.” Jobs also serves as chairman at Pixar in addition to his CEO title at Apple Computer.
The results beat Wall Street estimates as Pixar was expected to earn 13 cents a share. In fact, much as Apple does, Pixar has beaten analysts’ estimates for six quarters. Pixar has seen major success with the two “Toy Story” films and “A Bug’s Life,” both in theaters and on home video. The company’s next movie, “Monsters Inc.,” is scheduled to be released by Walt Disney in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 2. The “buzz” is good, and the film is expected to be a big hit.
And in a statement, Pixar said they’re raising its earnings forecast for this year to between 50 cents and 58 cents a share from an earlier estimate of 40 cents to 55 cents. The company was expected to earn 55 cents a share, according to analysts polled by First Call.
Shares of Pixar today rose as high as $43.08 in after-hours trading after falling 6 cents to $40.30 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. They had risen 34 percent so far this year.