Disney Reports 13% Increase in Profit The financial results were released in conjunction with a noisy bit of "Star Wars" news: Despite some screenwriting challenges, Lucasfilm, a Disney unit, will release the next "Star Wars" film on Dec. 18, 2015. For the fiscal quarter that ended Sept. 28, Disney reported a profit of $1.39 billion, or 77 cents a share, up from $1.24 billion, or 68 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 7 percent, to $11.57 billion. Disney's theme parks, closely watched as an informal barometer of discretionary spending in the broader economy, provided the biggest boost, although one park - Disneyland Paris - continued to slump. Operating profit for the overall unit, which includes Disney Cruise Line and a resort in Hawaii, increased 15 percent, to $571 million. Growth came from higher guest spending and improved hotel bookings at Walt Disney World in Florida. Operating income surged 30 percent at Disney Consumer Products, to $347 million. Merchandise tied to "Planes," "Monsters University" and Disney Junior preschool shows sold particularly well, Disney said. Despite losses tied to the movie "The Lone Ranger," Walt Disney Studios managed a 35 percent jump in operating income, to $108 million. The improved results were powered by ticket sales for "Monsters University," which took in $743.1 million at the global box office, and growth from subscription video-on-demand services. Still, quarterly results were not all positive. ESPN and Disney Channel as usual provided Disney with the bulk of its profit - about $1.44 billion in the quarter - but that total declined 8 percent from the same period a year ago because of $172 million worth of deferred subscriber payments at ESPN. Ad sales at the sports behemoth increased, however. ABC and its related television studio continued to flounder because of a shortage of hits reaching syndication and increased spending on scripted programming as it searches for ratings success. Operating income for Disney's broadcast division fell 18 percent, to $158 million.