Letter To Shareholders
To the Shareholders and Cast Members of The Walt Disney Company: I am pleased to share with you that fiscal 2006 was an exceptional year for your Company by nearly every measure. Before reporting our financial successes and celebrating the tremendous creative energy emanating from every corner of Disney, however, I’d like to express my profound gratitude to every one of our employees worldwide who make it all happen. In truth, the real magic of Disney can be found in their enthusiasm, talent and dedication – something I respect and admire greatly.
Nurturing an environment that encourages the finest creative work is vital to our efforts, which is why it gives me great pleasure to say that everywhere you turn at Disney today, there’s a thrilling sense that the sky really is the limit. Regardless of the generation, this creative energy is being embraced by consumers of all ages and all walks of life all around the world, whether they are young kids watching Hannah Montana on Disney Channel, sports fans glued to Monday Night Football on ESPN or families experiencing the fantasy and wonder of a Walt Disney World vacation.
Central to the Disney legacy is this unparalleled heritage of creative excellence, endless imagination and technological innovation. From Snow White to this summer’s new Pirates of the Caribbean adventure, our skill is in creating extraordinary worlds, compelling stories, memorable characters and rewarding experiences for audiences everywhere. Synonymous with the Disney name is creative strength, and this year we made a tremendous move to build upon that great tradition with the acquisition of another globally recognized powerhouse of creativity and technology, Pixar Animation Studios.
Pixar’s unprecedented string of hits, which continued this year with Cars, can be attributed to its incredible artistic talent and spirit of innovation, coupled with an uncanny ability to develop memorable characters and tell a great, relatable story. Ever since the debut of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, animation has been the bedrock of Disney, so with this important acquisition, we further our commitment to outstanding animation, embracing our heritage and securing our legacy for the future.
While the addition of Pixar enhances Disney’s position as the worldwide leader in quality family entertainment, we also remain at the forefront of technological advancement for the purposes of both entertainment and distribution, and we are focused on expanding the breadth and depth of all our businesses globally. We believe these strategies will continue to promote sustained future growth, just as they did in fiscal 2006, a year in which Disney saw record revenues, record cash flow and record net earnings, as well as operating growth in each of our business segments.
