‘Frozen’ Still Boosting Disney Sales

Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday beat Wall Street earnings forecasts for its fiscal second quarter as it benefited from strong advertising sales and the continuing popularity of merchandise from the film “Frozen.”

The Burbank entertainment and media giant reported net income of $2.1 billion ($1.23 a share) for the quarter ended March 28, compared with net income of $1.9 billion ($1.08) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 7 percent to $12.5 billion.

Analysts on average expected net income of $1.11 cents a share on revenue of $12.3 billion, according to Thomson Financial Network.

The earnings release was moved up from later in the day to allow Disney executive to attend the funeral of tech executive David Goldberg, the husband of Disney board member Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook.

The earnings caused the stock to briefly hit an all-time hit of $112.21 before profit taking. Shares closed down 22 cents to $110.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Herbalife Tops Estimates

Downtown L.A. supplement maker Herbalife Ltd. reported better-than-expected earnings Tuesday, sending shares skyward in after-hours trading.

The company reported first-quarter sales of $1.1 billion, down from $1.3 billion in the same quarter a year ago, though the company attributed the drop to currency fluctuations. Net income for the quarter was $78.2 million (92 cents a share), up 5 percent from $74.6 million (74 cents) in the same quarter last year. Analysts had expected earnings of 84 cents a share.

Herbalife announced earnings after markets closed Tuesday. Shares closed at $40.09, down 5 percent for the day, but shot up nearly 16 percent in after-hours trading to $46.35.