Disney takes $1.4bn hit as parks shuttered and production halted
The coronavirus pandemic has cost Walt Disney $1.4bn in the last three months as the virus shut down its theme parks around the world and halted film and TV productions, the company announced on Tuesday.
The world’s largest media company said its operating income for the three months ending 28 March had fallen 37% to $2.4bn after it was forced to close parks, cancel cruises and delay future productions.
Disney felt the impact of the pandemic earlier than many US companies. It closed its parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong in January and its outpost in Japan in February before closing resorts in the US and Europe a month later.
The company estimates it lost $1bn over the three months in its parks, experiences and products segment, mostly due to revenue lost because of closures.
Disney+, the company’s new streaming service, however, has benefitted from the global quarantines imposed to slow the virus. Disney+ had 33.5 million paid subscribers by the end of March and passed the 50 million mark in April as more people stayed home and signed up.
On a call with financial analysts, the chief executive, Bob Chapek, said the company is “seeing encouraging signs of a gradual return to some sense of normalcy in China” and would reopen its Shanghai Disneyland park on 11 May with a phased approach.
Chapek said Disney would put new procedures in place at its parks once they reopen, including limiting guest capacity, temperature checks and masks.
Disney’s stock hit at an all-time high before the pandemic. In 2019, a record seven Disney movies brought in more than $1bn each including Avengers: Endgame, Frozen II and The Lion King.
Its shares fell 2% in after-hours trading.