New York, Nov. 13, (dpa/GNA) – US entertainment giant Disney on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter loss as the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on its theme parks business.
The company posted revenue of 14.7 billion dollars – down 23 per cent compared to a year earlier, it said in its quarterly earnings report.
Revenues were down 61 per cent to 2.6 billion dollars in the parks, experiences and products segment, as Disney’s California parks remain shuttered amid surging US coronavirus infections.
Disney reported a 710-million-dollar loss in the three months ended October 3. That’s compared to a net income of 777 million dollars a year earlier.
However, the loss was less drastic than anticipated, and marked an improvement from last quarter, when Disney posted a 4.7-billion-dollar loss. Revenue was also better than expected, causing shares to jump after the release.
Walt Disney Company chief executive Bob Chapek said the firm had taken steps towards “greater long-term growth.”
“The real bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer business, which is key to the future of our company, and on this anniversary of the launch of Disney+ we’re pleased to report that, as of the end of the fourth quarter, the service had more than 73 million paid subscribers – far surpassing our expectations in just its first year,” he said.
In October, Disney announced it was restructuring its business to place more emphasis on the booming streaming market.
GNA