MILANO – Walt Disney changes skin and thanks to the success of the streaming announces in the quarter between April and July better than expected results flying to Wall Street. The company’s consolidated revenues were up 45% to $ 17.02 billion in the third quarter (from $ 16.76 billion expected by analysts’ average) and net profit beat estimates to $ 918 million, or 50 cents. per share (from a 2020 red of 4.72 billion or $ 2.61 per share). Adjusted earnings were $ 0.8 per share.
The credit goes to Disney +, Hulu and Espn +, which have earned just under 15 million new subscribers, rising to 174 million. The Disney + flagship had 116 million users at the end of July, just above the 115.2 million predicted by analyst consensus. The increase in subscribers of the group that also beat Netflix (which in the quarter gained a tenth of subscribers or 1.5 million new users), but this tumultuous growth came at a cost: the distribution division suffered a decline of 32 % of operating profit due to the increase in programming costs, and direct-to-consumer reported a loss of 293 million (halved compared to -624 million a year earlier) because it invested more in TV programs, films and other costs. Disney +, which launched Cruella, Luca and Black Widow during the summer, has a lower average cost (except for the premium subscription) than the colossus led by Reed Hastings, and other rival offers.
In the period between April and July, Disney’s playgrounds welcomed more visitors thanks to the easing of restrictions due to the pandemic. Revenues increased for the first time in five quarters to 4.34 billion, with a net profit of 356 million compared to the red of nearly $ 1.9 billion in 2020, when most parks were closed. “Looking to the future, we remain optimistic about the parks business – said the Bob Chapek CEO of the US giant – bookings are currently exceeding the presences of the quarter just ended “.
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