Disney theme parks soar while media division stutters in Q2 earnings
by Tom Anstey | 11 May 2016
Disney CEO Bob Iger said that domestic operations in particular continued to benefit from strong demand from guests
While revenues at Disney’s parks and resorts continue to rise, things aren’t looking so rosy for the company as a whole, after the entertainment giant logged its first earnings miss in two years.
Shares in the company dropped by as much as 7 per cent following the results release, which fell short of Wall Street estimates owing largely to flat revenues related to its television businesses.
Overall revenue for the company rose 4 per cent to US$12.97bn (€11.38bn, £8.99bn), lower than the US$13.2bn (€11.58bn, £9.15bn) sum predicted by analysts.
Despite its media network and consumer products sections underperforming, Disney’s parks and resorts did well, as did the Star Wars brand, which remains a powerhouse worldwide.
Disney’s theme park arm, which is gearing up for the launch of Shanghai Disneyland next month, reported a 4 per cent revenue gain totalling US$3.9bn (€3.42bn, £2.7bn), while operating income climbed 10 per cent to US$624m (€547.6m, £432.8m) as Disney introduces seasonal pricing strategies to its US parks.
“At Parks and Resorts, the investments we've made to both maintain a high level of guest experience and to drive demand continue to pay off, said Disney CEO Bob Iger, speaking during an earnings call.
“In Q2, the segment set new second quarter records in both revenue and operating income. Our domestic operations in particular continued to benefit from strong demand from guests, specifically at our domestic parks and at Disney Cruise Line.
“It will take some time for Shanghai to contribute because we've got start-up costs and we're walking before we run there as well.
“We have very, very optimistic outlook about the park that we're opening there and about the market in general. We like the steps that we've taken in terms of pricing. We've taken a number of steps or made a number of steps to essentially grow revenue, in some cases, actually at the expense of some attendance where we're changing our pricing approach.”
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While revenues at Disney’s parks and resorts continue to rise, things aren’t looking so rosy for the company as a whole, after the entertainment giant logged its first earnings miss in two years. Shares in the company dropped by as much as 7 per cent following the results release, which fell short of Wall Street estimates owing largely to flat revenues related to its television businesses. Overall revenue for the
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