国际英语新闻：Walt Disney company's 2Q earnings up by 45%

LOS ANGELES, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The Walt Disney company has registered an 45 percent increase, or 0.48 U.S. dollars from 0.33 U.S. dollars diluted earnings per share (EPS) for its second fiscal quarter in year-ago period, the company reported Tuesday.

The current quarter included restructuring and impairment charges, a gain on the sale of an investment in a pay television service in Central Europe and an accounting gain related to the acquisition of the Disney Stores in Japan, which collectively had no net impact on EPS, according to the company.

The prior-year quarter included restructuring and impairment charges which had a 0.10 U.S. dollars per share impact on EPS, the Burbank, Calif.-based company said.

"The incredible box office performance of Disney's Alice in Wonderland and acquisition of Marvel, whose Iron Man 2 has grossed 334 million U.S. dollars in global box office in its first two weeks, clearly show the benefits of investing in high quality branded content," said Disney President and CEO Robert A.Iger.

"With the economy showing signs of improvement, we're confident our strategy is the right one to provide consumers the best in entertainment while building long-term value for our shareholders," he said.