The profit stood at 597 million dollars, down 46% and very much below analysts’ expectations.
At the same time, Disney+ reached 137.7 million subscribers, up 33% year-on-year. Between late December and early April, the Burbank (California) group gained 7.9 million net subscribers to its subscription video service.
The figure contrasts with that of its big competitor Netflix, which lost 200,000 accounts over the same period, when the platform had not seen any decline for more than ten years.
Disney saw the average revenue per paying Disney+ subscriber increase by 9% year-on-year, but erode slightly compared to the previous quarter (-1%). Within the video, cinema and television branch, online video services remain in the red and posted an operating loss of $887 million in the quarter.
Disneyland Paris
In the other major activity of the group, the parks, Disney more than doubled its turnover over one year (+109%). It was driven by attendance at Disneyland Paris, which was partially offset by a decline in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
From January to March, which corresponds to the second quarter of Disney’s staggered fiscal year, the parks generated operating income almost equivalent to that of video, cinema and television, while they posted a heavy loss last year, due to coronavirus restrictions.
During the conference call to present the results, the chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, nevertheless warned that the resurgence of the pandemic and the confinements might cut operating income for the current quarter by $ 350 million.
In total, the turnover emerged up 23% over one year, to 19.2 billion dollars.
