10.08.2016

Disney marks record quarterly earnings, though summer attendance dips at US parks

• Description
  Fireworks and projections light up Sleeping Beauty’s castle in celebration of Disneyland’s 60th birthday.JEFF GITCHEN — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

  By Joseph Pimentel, The Orange County Register

   

  Disney results beat, picks up stake in streaming company

   

  Summer attendance at Walt Disney Co.’s domestic theme parks was down but the company’s Parks and Resorts division still earned record revenue for the quarter.

  In Disney’s third fiscal quarter, which ended July 2, revenue for Disney’s Parks and Resorts division increased 6 percent to $4.4 billion and the operating profit was up 8 percent year over year to $994 million.

  The increases were “all-time records for the quarter,” said Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, during Tuesday’s investors’ conference call out of Burbank.

   

  Disney’s domestic parks attendance at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure dropped 4 percent, but McCarthy said the decrease was because of timing.

  The Easter holiday didn’t fall in the company’s third quarter this time.

  Further, Disneyland’s 60th anniversary celebration was winding down and construction for “Star Wars” land has led to several popular attractions such as Fantasmic!, the Disneyland Railroad and the Mark Twain Riverboat temporarily closing.

  The drop in attendance was offset by guests spending more on tickets to visit the parks and vacations on Disney’s cruise lines, and higher occupancy at Disney hotels. Hotel occupancy was up 3 percent to 90 percent of capacity.

  Disney CEO Bob Iger was bullish Tuesday on Shanghai Disneyland, which opened in June. Iger said more than 1 million people already have visited the park, and hotel occupancy at Disney’s Shanghai properties was at 95 percent.

  Companywide, Disney’s revenue jumped 9 percent to $14.2 billion and operating income increased 8 percent to $4.4 billion year over year. Total profits for the quarter reached $2.6 billion, a 5 percent increase.

  Revenue for Disney’s cable networks including ESPN — which has faced an influx of cable-subscriber losses — rose slightly to 1 percent to $4.2 billion compared with a year ago. ESPN ad revenue was up 5 percent, McCarthy said.

  The conference call came hours after Disney announced it had purchased a 33 percent stake of BAMtech, a company formed by Major League Baseball that specializes in online video streaming. The $2 billion deal will allow Disney to make a major leap in providing customers a direct-to-consumer streaming service.

  Iger said Disney plans to release the new ESPN streaming service this year. This online channel will complement ESPN’s cable programming, Iger said. It will air content such as Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, tennis and college sports.

  http://www.dailynews.com/business/20160809/disney-marks-record-quarterly-earnings-though-summer-attendance-dips-at-us-parks