Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) reported its fiscal third quarter earnings Thursday afternoon and, as expected, it was a tough quarter for the entertainment conglomerate.
We noted in our earnings preview that analysts were expecting to see lower profit, and that is exactly what Disney did this afternoon, reporting a 26% dip in quarterly profit.
The company matched analyst estimates by posting 51 cents per share for its fiscal third quarter ended June 30.
While Disney was able to match analyst estimates for its bottom line, revenues did come in lower than expected. The company reported revenues of $8.6 billion for the quarter, while analyst estimates were running at $8.83 billion.
The recession has definitely had an impact on Disney's theme park business. Its theme parks have been running offers and promotions to help support visitor numbers, but the problem is that people are spending less once they enter the parks. Theme park revenues were down by 9.4% and theme park profit was off by 19%.
Disney's Chief Executive Bob Iger acknowledged that it was a tough quarter for Disney, but remained positive in regards to his company's positioning. He stated that "While a tough global economy impacted our performance in the quarter, we remain encouraged by the relative strength of our business."
After-hours traders did not feel so encouraged and pushed shares of Disney stock down over 3% yesterday.
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