Performers greet tourists at the entrance of the Shanghai Disneyland theme park in east China's Shanghai, May 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Ren Long)
Disney's overall revenues in the three-month period that ended June 27 fell 42 percent year-over-year to 11.78 billion U.S. dollars.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday reported significant quarterly loss in its fiscal third quarter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney's overall revenues in the three-month period that ended June 27 fell 42 percent year-over-year to 11.78 billion U.S. dollars. Earnings per share for the quarter showed a loss of 2.61 dollars compared to income of 79 cents in the prior-year quarter, according to a release from the company.
Disney said that the company took a 3.5-billion-dollar hit to its operating income from parks being closed during the quarter, a decrease of 85 percent from a year earlier.
"The impact of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread are affecting our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at Parks, Experiences and Products," said the company in the release.
A staff member shows hand sanitizer at the Disneyland theme park in east China's Shanghai, May 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Ren Long)
As a result of COVID-19, Disney closed its North American parks and resorts, cruise line business and Disneyland Paris in mid-March, while the company's Asia parks and resorts were closed earlier in the quarter.
Disney's theme parks in China, including Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland, had been closed since January amid threat of COVID-19 spread. Shanghai Disneyland welcomed visitors for the first time on May 11 after months of closure, becoming the first Disney park to reopen since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Hong Kong Disneyland reopened in late June and was closed again in July.
Tourists have fun at the Shanghai Disneyland theme park in east China's Shanghai, May 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Ren Long)
Studio Entertainment revenues for the quarter decreased 55 percent to 1.7 billion dollars. Theatrical distribution in the quarter was negatively impacted by COVID-19 as theaters were generally closed domestically and internationally.
No significant titles were released in the current quarter compared to the release of "Avengers: Endgame" "Aladdin" and "Dark Phoenix" in the prior-year quarter, according to the company.
Media Networks revenues for the quarter decreased 2 percent to 6.6 billion dollars while Direct-to-Consumer and International revenues for the quarter increased 2 percent to 4 billion dollars.
"Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, we've continued to build on the incredible success of Disney+ as we grow our global direct-to-consumer businesses," said Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek in the release.
"The global reach of our full portfolio of direct-to-consumer services now exceeds an astounding 100 million paid subscriptions -- a significant milestone and a reaffirmation of our DTC strategy, which we view as key to the future growth of our company," he noted. ■
