Struggling theme parks take Walt Disney Co to rare annual loss
The Walt Disney Co posted its first annual loss for 40 years, led by a $2.4 billion impact to its Parks division in the fourth quarter.
Walt Disney Co’s net loss for the quarter was $710 million and $2.8 billion for the year.
Theme park revenues were down 61% as Disneyland remains closed.
"It’s been a year unlike any other in our lifetime, and certainly in the history of the Walt Disney Co," said CEO Bob Capek.
He said the company is ‘extremely disappointed that the state of California continues to keep Disneyland closed despite our proven track record.’
"Frankly, as we and other civic leaders have stated before, we believe state leadership should look objectively at what we’ve achieved successfully at our parks around the world, all based on science," Capek said.
The Walt Disney World and Shanghai Disneyland parks operated at a ‘net positive contribution’ for the fourth quarter.
WDW park capacity is now at 35%, up from 25% when the parks reopened in July.
Overall, Disney parks’ operations took a hit of $6.9 billion in 2020 due to closures and reduced capacity.
The Parks, Experiences and Products segment, including the idle cruise line business had the most significant impact because of Covid-19, and it doesn’t know ‘how long these impacts will last’ due to uncertainty over California parks and cruise operations.
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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