A worker will be cleaning the gardens behind the closed gates of Disneyland Park on the first day of the closing of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks, in Anaheim, California, on March 14, 2020.
DAVID MCNEW | AFP | Getty Images
Disney received another financial blow in its first fiscal quarter, as attendance restrictions at its open theme parks and the continued closure of the parks in California were heavy on its bottom line.
There is currently no timeline for reopening Disneyland, as the state of California has said it will not allow theme parks to reopen until coronavirus cases have dropped dramatically in the surrounding community. While the 7-day average of daily Covid new cases has dropped from the previous week in California, more than 1,000 new cases are detected daily in the state, according to a CNBC study of Johns Hopkins University data.
“Where we have been able to reopen our theme parks with limited capacity, guests have consistently shown a willingness and desire to visit which, we believe, is a testament to their confidence in the protocols. health and safety that we have put in place, “Chief Executive Bob Chapek said during an employment call Thursday.
The company said the revolution cost this segment about $ 2.6 billion in lost operating income during the December quarter.
Revenue at Disney parks, experiences and products fell 53% to $ 3.58 billion.
Disney has reported a similar loss in each of its last three earnings. In the fourth quarter, the company said the coronavirus revolution cost about $ 2.4 billion in lost operating revenue in its most recent period. In the second quarter, the company reported losing $ 1 billion in operating income as a result of the pandemic, and in the third quarter, the pandemic cut $ 3.5 one billion.
Walt Disney World in Florida and Shanghai Disney Resort were open for their first quarter, and Disneyland and all Disney tour businesses were shut down.
Disneyland Paris was open until the end of October, about one-third of the quarter, and Hong Kong Disneyland was open until the beginning of December, or about two-thirds of the quarter. The company expects its Hong Kong position to open in the second quarter.
“In terms of the parks’ prospects for the rest of the year, and their potential, it’s really going to be determined by the level of public vaccination,” said Chapek. the largest machine we can move to take the parks that are currently under limited capacity and raise or open pitches that are currently closed. “
Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said that for the parks that were open, the company was able to make a profit from guests. Revenue from park visitors exceeded costs for openness. She also noted that the company is pleased with the number of registrations and reserved places it is seeing.
As parks expand capacity and reopen, Chapek said there will be a level of social isolation and mask wear for the rest of the year.
“Dr. Fauci said earlier today that he hopes there are vaccines for everyone who wants them by April this year,” Chapek said. “If that happens, that’s a game changer, and that could speed up our expectations and reassure people that they need to come back to the pitches.”
“Will there be some overreach so we know we’ve hit herd immunity?” he said. “Sure we will but do we also believe we will be in the same state of 6-foot social distance and mask wear in 2022? Absolutely not.”