Disney’s parks and resorts swung to the black last quarter in a slow turnaround for one of the nation’s sectors hardest hit by the global pandemic. On a conference call with analysts post-earnings, CEO Bob Chapek said the fast spreading Delta Variant is — so far — really only impacting big groups and convention cancellations, not tourism.
Parks posted an operating profit of $365 million for the fiscal third quarter ended in June from a loss of close to $1.9 billion the year earlier. Revenue jumped to $4.3 billion from just over $1 billion. Per capita spending is way up, parks pretty much at capacity and reservations strong.was and Paris was, once they open, the per capitals shoot up,” said CFO Christine McCarthy. She is expecting to have the parks fully staffed up by the end of 2021.
Disney noted that it will continue to incur costs across businesses to address government regulations and implement safety measures for employees, talent and guests. The timing, duration and extent of these costs will depend on the timing and scope of our operations as they resume as well as regulatory or other requirements,” it said, anticipating total outlay of approximately $1 billion in fiscal 2021. It said some of these costs may be capitalized and amortized over future periods.