Updated at 4:31 pm EST
disneyDISposted its better-than-expected fourth earnings on Wednesday, while adding a solid number of new subscribers to its core streaming division, as it forecast “significant” free cash flow growth for the next fiscal year.
Disney said adjusted earnings for the three months ended in September, the group’s fiscal fourth quarter, were 82 cents per share, up from 30 cents per share posted last year and firmly above the company’s consensus forecast. Street of 70 cents per share.
Group revenue, Disney said, rose 5.4% to $21.24 billion, just shy of the Wall Street consensus forecast of $21.35 billion.
“Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we have made over the past year. “While we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to get through this settling-in period and begin building our businesses again,” said CEO Bob Iger.
“We have a strong foundation of creative excellence and innovation built over the past century, which has only been reinforced by the significant restructuring and cost efficiency work we have undertaken this year, and we are on track to achieve approximately $7.5 billion in costs. reductions,” he added. “Combined with our portfolio of valuable businesses, brands and assets – and the way we manage them together – Disney has a strong hand that differentiates us from others in our industry.”
Disney shares rose 3.25% in after-hours trading immediately following the earnings release, indicating a Thursday opening price of $87.25 each.
Disney’s reporting was condensed into three new reporting segments in today’s earnings report, and ESPN will largely move into a standalone Sports division for the first time in the company’s history.
Sports-focused revenue rose 14% from the same period last year to $981 million, beating Street forecasts of about $862 million.
Experience revenue rose 31% from last year to $1.8 billion, beating Street forecasts, thanks to strong profits from international theme parks such as Hong Kong. while the Entertainment division’s profits were estimated at $236 million, compared to a loss of $608 million last year.
Overall, Disney+ paid subscribers rose by 7 million from the previous quarter, the company said, doubling Street forecasts, while Hotstar subscribers fell about 4 million to 37.6 million, bringing the total overall at 150.2 million.
The streaming division’s losses were estimated at $387 million, down from $1.5 billion last year and $512 million the previous quarter.
Disney also said it would accelerate its cost reduction program by about $2 billion, bringing it to $7.5 billion per year, while saying it expects to “significantly increase free cash flow in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal year 2023, approaching levels last seen before the pandemic.” “
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