Marvel raises profit forecast
- Share via
As “Iron Man” smashed its way to an estimated $201 million in worldwide box-office sales, the firm that financed the film, Marvel Entertainment Inc., raised its profit forecast for the year and promised to release “Iron Man 2” in 2010.
New York-based Marvel said first-quarter profit fell 3% to $45.2 million, or 58 cents a share, but that beat analysts’ prediction of 43 cents, according to Thomson Financial.
Revenue declined 26% to $112.6 million from $151.4 million, but also beat analysts’ estimate of $111.7 million.
The company raised the lower end of its guidance for revenue for the year by $10 million, to $370 million to $400 million, and bumped up both ends of its net profit forecast range by 5 cents to $1.35 to $1.55.
Analysts said the figures underestimated the boost that Marvel would get from “Iron Man.”
“This performance far exceeded our estimate,” Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Drew Crum said. He expects the film to add 55 cents a share to profit for the year, up from an estimate of 15 cents.
Marvel shares jumped $2.85, or 9.4%, to $33.10.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
