Disney returns to profit as streaming business makes money for first time

The movie Inside Out 2 also performed well in cinemas for the entertainment giant during the quarter.

Guests at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World brave wind and rain

The Walt Disney Co has returned to a profitable third quarter as its combined streaming business started making money for the first time, while the movie Inside Out 2 did well in cinemas.

For the period ending June 29, Disney earned 2.62 billion dollars (£2.05 billion), or 1.43 dollars (£1.12) per share.

A year earlier it lost 460 million dollars (£361.4 million), or 25 cents per share.

Stripping out one-time gains, earnings were 1.39 dollars (£1.09) per share, easily topping the 1.20 dollars (94p) analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Mickey Mouse, flanked by Goofy and Pluto — The firm has returned to profit for the third quarter (Damon Smith/PA)

Revenue for the firm based in Burbank, California, rose 4% to 23.16 billion dollars (£18.19 billion), beating Wall Street’s estimate of 22.91 billion dollars (£18 billion).

Operating income for the entertainment segment nearly tripled to 1.2 billion dollars (£942 billion) thanks to better performances from its direct-to-consumer and content sales/licensing and Other segments.

Disney said its direct-to-consumer business, which includes Disney+ and Hulu, reported a quarterly operating loss of 19 million dollars (£14.9 million), which was smaller than its loss of 505 million dollars (£396.8 million) a year earlier. Revenue climbed 15% to 5.81 billion dollars (£4.56 billion).

Content sales/licensing and Other reported 254 million dollars (£199.5 million) in operating income, helped by the strong performance of Inside Out 2 at cinemas.

Disney now anticipates full-year adjusted earnings per share growth of 30%.

Disneyland — The firm was also bolstered by the movie Inside Out 2 at the box office (AP)

In April shareholders rebuffed efforts by activist investor Nelson Peltz to claim seats on the company board, standing firmly behind chief executive Bob Iger as he tries to energise the company after a rough stretch.

In June, Disney asked a federal appellate court to dismiss its lawsuit against Florida governor Ron DeSantis after his appointees approved a deal with the company on how Walt Disney World will be developed over the next two decades, ending the last piece of conflict between the two sides.

As part of the 15-year deal, Disney agreed to invest 17 billion dollars (£13.3 billion) into Disney World over the next two decades, and the district committed to making infrastructure improvement on the theme park resort’s property.