Profits soared opposite a Walt Disney Co.’s vacation sovereignty during a initial 3 months a year, surging 73 percent on a strength of new journey ships and theme-park attractions worldwide.
The sepulchral parks business helped lift Disney to 32 percent distinction enlargement during a mercantile second quarter. The association pronounced Tuesday it incited an altogether distinction of $1.5 billion for a period, adult from $1.1 billion a year ago. Revenue rose 10 percent to scarcely $10.6 billion.
Those results, that exceeded Wall Street estimates, came as Disney’s batch cost climbed to record heights and a association basked in a heat of a just-released “Iron Man 3,” nonetheless another blockbuster superhero movie.
“It’s an sparkling time during Disney,” association Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger pronounced during a discussion call with analysts.
None of Disney’s groups achieved stronger during a entertain than a parks, where Disney has plowed approximately $6 billion into new domestic projects during a past few years. Among a additions: dual new journey ships; a Hawaiian resort; a rebuilt Disney California Adventure during Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.; and a new hotel, an stretched Fantasyland and a MyMagic+ vacation-planning complement during Walt Disney World.
With many of those projects relocating past a break-even point, handling income in Parks and Resorts skyrocketed 73 percent, from $222 million a year ago to $383 million. Sales jumped 14 percent to $3.3 billion.
The parks were helped by auspicious timing of a bustling Christmas and Easter holiday periods. Easter, for instance, fell progressing this year than in 2012, stuffing Disney’s second-quarter handling distinction by about $35 million.
Still, Disney executives pronounced a formula were an fatiguing publicity of a investments done in new attractions and businesses.
“Let’s call it what it was: a good entertain for a parks,” Iger said. “This was a entertain that we consider stood out since a product that we recently put online unequivocally worked, like California Adventure and Fantasyland and a journey ships.”
Disney available gains opposite a holdings. Disney World and Disneyland both set quarterly assemblage records, with total assemblage adult 8 percent from a year earlier. Visitor spending was adult 10 percent on aloft sheet prices as good as some-more food and commemoration sales.
Iger pronounced a Magic Kingdom, a world’s busiest thesis park, set a single-day assemblage record during this year’s Easter duration interjection to seductiveness in a new Fantasyland attractions. He pronounced a additional respirating room combined by a expansion, that will continue by this year, has sent guest-satisfaction ratings “way up” in a chronically undiluted park.
Occupancy during Disney’s U.S. hotels — that are heavily strong in Orlando — dipped dual commission points to 80 percent since of additional ability from a roughly 2,000-room Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, that non-stop final summer. But per-room spending, that includes a nightly rate, rose 7 percent.
Disney pronounced bookings for a stream entertain are using 7 percent forward of final year’s pace. Prices are about flat, as a Art of Animation — that is labelled toward a low finish of Disney’s hotel scale — weighs on a resort’s normal rates.
Another large distinction center: Disney Cruise Line, that carried some-more passengers since of a Disney Fantasy, a second of dual new ships a association has combined to what is now a four-vessel fleet. The 4,000-passenger boat had not nonetheless begun sailing during Disney’s second entertain final year.
Results also improved, despite during a obtuse pace, during Disney’s ubiquitous parks. The association pronounced assemblage grew during Hong Kong Disneyland, that was recently expanded, while guest spending rose during Disneyland Paris.
The parks’ multibillion-dollar spending debauch is not utterly over. Disney continues to exam elements of MyMagic+, a record that will outfit guest with wireless wristbands functioning as all-in-one park passes, hotel keys and credit cards, and permitting them to book float times before withdrawal on vacation.
The timing of a full introduction is rather in flux. “The idea is for us to hurl out MyMagic+ during some indicate this year,” Iger said. “We wish to be clever that this is operative positively right before we hurl out to a ubiquitous public.”
Once it’s adult and running, Disney Co. Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said, a devise is approaching to boost Disney’s bottom line in several ways.
“If we can get people to devise their vacation before they leave home, we know that we get some-more time with them, we get a bigger share of their wallet,” Rasulo said. “The second thing is what happens to purchases when they turn most some-more available and we don’t spend time queuing adult for a transaction.”
Iger pronounced he also expects MyMagic+ to captivate some-more people into staying in Disney hotels, expected since they will be given entrance to some-more of a system’s perks than guest who spend their nights in off-property competitors.
Beyond a parks, a large pitch cause for Disney during a entertain was a film studio, even yet “Iron Man 3” was expelled after a entertain was over. After losing $84 million a year ago on a wave John Carter, a film section rebounded to an handling distinction of $118 million, buoyed by “Wreck-it Ralph” and “Oz a Great and Powerful.”
Disney’s largest business — a radio networks, that are anchored by cable-sports behemoth ESPN — posted an handling distinction of $1.9 billion for a quarter, adult 8 percent from a year ago. Its consumer-products multiplication incited an handling distinction of $200 million, adult 35 percent, on sales of Disney Channel, Mickey and Minnie, and Marvel Entertainment merchandise.
Disney’s newest and smallest unit, interactive media, continued to remove money, yet not utterly as most as final year. The division, that produces video games, posted a $54 million handling detriment from a quarter, down from a $70 million loss.
jrgarcia@tribune.com or 407-420-5414
