Marvel Reports High Fourth Quarter Profit

According to a Reuters report, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. has reported a profit of more than double, posting a profit for the sixth consecutive quarter and beating Wall Street estimates.

Many are pinning the company's success on the release of its successful self-produced films, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said, "The fact that they came in at their guidance range is a great sign that their business is much better than people feared with an economic downturn."

Iron Man was one of the most successful films of 2008, falling behind only The Dark Knight.

According to Pachter, Marvel should hit the high-end of its projections for 2009. Net profit in the fourth-quarter doubled to $224.3 million. Film-production revenue came in at $135.5 million, this profit mainly coming from DVD sales of Iron Man. Revenue from its publishing segment rose to $33.1 million, an increase of 9 percent.

Robert Steffens, Marvel's senior vice president of financial analysis, said, "Our financial results from the films were in excess or in line with our expectations."

Marvel announced last week that Hasbro, Inc. will retain toy-licensing rights to Marvel characters until 2017. This deal guarantees Marvel $100 million and the potential to earn another $140 million.