Disney regains its tone in the streaming business. The entertainment giant gained 7 million users on its Disney platform in the last quarter and leaves behind three periods of decline, according to the results presented this Wednesday. In total it has 150 million subscribers, better than analysts expected.
CEO Bob Iger said in the note that the company has left its "repair period" behind and can now focus on expanding and "building."
Iger's words refer to the dismissal of 7,000 employees, 3% of the workforce, within a plan to reduce expenses by 5,000 million dollars, about 4,700 million euros. The company announced that it is on track to cut another $2.5 billion in costs, although they would not translate into more layoffs, he noted.
The company closed its 2023 accounting year, until September, with a profit of 2,354 million dollars, about 2,200 million euros, which is 25% less. The figure comes with a turnover that is 7.5% higher, of 88,898 million dollars, about 83,100 million euros.
In the fourth quarter, from July to September, the most recent and followed by Wall Street analysts, the company earned 264 million, 63% more compared to the same period in 2022.
In these months its income amounted to 21,241 million, 5.4% more. However, he suffered declines in advertiser revenue at his television networks, a segment that Iger has signaled he would be open to selling.
The company has managed to weather the actors' strike, which has disrupted the generation of new content and which has barely reached an agreement to end this Wednesday, after four months. The increase in subscribers comes after from September 2022 to June, the platform lost 18 million subscribers, mainly due to the Indian market. Hotstar, the local version of Disney, accounts for almost a third of the global total, but has lost the broadcasting rights to the national cricket championship.
The numbers were generally better than the market expected, with the company's shares rising more than 3% in electronic trading after the close.
