Walt Disney Co.'s fourth-quarter profits exceeded Wall Street analysts' earnings projections. This was due to the increased visitors at its theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
After-hours trading saw a 3 per cent increase in the price of Walt Disney shares to $87.14 on Wednesday, following the entertainment company's better-than-expected results and announcement of an additional $2 billion in spending reductions.
Based on LSEG statistics, Walt Disney reported adjusted per-share earnings of 82 cents for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended on September 30, exceeding an average estimate of 70 cents.
According to Reuters, the company's $21.2 billion in quarterly sales was mainly in line with consensus projections.
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Disney claims that because of its proactive cost management, it is on target to realise an annualised savings of $7.5 billion.
Disney CEO Bob Iger stated on a conference call with investors that the additional cost reductions will transition the company from 'an era of fixing to an era of building.'
By the end of 2023, the business intends to request from its board that a dividend be paid to shareholders again, according to interim Chief Financial Officer Kevin Lansberry.
Disney announced that the original shows 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' had gained roughly 70 lakh Disney streaming subscribers in the quarter.
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Disney and Disney Hotstar together boast 15 crore subscribers, ahead of Visible Alpha's estimate of 14.7 crore subscribers.
Disney's streaming services, which consist of Hulu and ESPN, have announced a significant reduction in their quarterly losses. The losses have narrowed down from $1.47 billion in the previous year to $387 million.
This positive change can be attributed to the implementation of price increases and an rise in advertising revenue. Disney is confident that its streaming business will continue to progress towards profitability and aims to achieve this goal by September 2024.
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