'Finding Nemo' and 'Kill Bill' boost Disney's UK revenues to £342m

Walt Disney's profits and sales rose sharply in the UK last year, thanks to successful film and DVD releases such as Finding Nemo and Kill Bill.

Walt Disney's profits and sales rose sharply in the UK last year, thanks to successful film and DVD releases such as Finding Nemo and Kill Bill.

Accounts recently filed at Companies House for Walt Disney's main UK business show that sales rose from £207.8m to £220.3m in the 12 months to the end of September 2004.

A restructuring of its UK assets consolidated several other Walt Disney-owned assets, including Buena Vista Home Entertainment, its DVD and video business, and Disney Theatrical Productions, under the main UK holding company. This resulted in additional sales of £121.7m, bringing total sales for the company to £342m.

Operating profits rose from £9.2m to £14m on a like-for-like basis, with the newly consolidated operations adding a further £5m.

The company reports four main lines of business. Media networks, which includes the Disney Channel, the Capital Disney radio station and film and television sales to UK broadcasters, reported sales of £152.6m compared with £137.2m in 2003.

Studio entertainment, one of the newly consolidated businesses, includes theatrical productions such as Lion King and the Buena Vista film distribution company. The division reported sales of £117m, while consumer products, such as merchandising, saw sales rise from £52m to £66.7m.

The newly consolidated operations only contributed to the results for part of the year. Analysts expect that for 2005, Disney's UK arm will contribute close to $1bn (£522m) of revenue to the US parent company.

Disney's UK operations are run by Cindy Rose, who recently added the Middle East and southern Mediterranean territories to her responsibilities. The UK is part of the group's international division run by the Englishman Andy Bird, a former producer at Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.