Bob Iger pledges to cut another $2bn from Disney’s cost base

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Walt Disney reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its most recent quarter and forecast that it would cut another $2bn from its cost base while generating higher levels of cash in the coming year. 

The entertainment group’s earnings of 82 cents a share in the fourth quarter exceeded Wall Street forecasts of 70 cents, thanks in part to a 31 per cent increase in operating income at its theme parks and experiences business. It raised its target for annualised cost cuts from $5.5bn to $7.5bn. 

The results come almost a year after Bob Iger returned to Disney as chief executive to replace his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek. Iger said the results reflected the “significant progress” over the past year at the company. 

“While we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to move beyond the period of fixing and begin building our businesses again,” he said.

Disney’s streaming business lost $387mn in the quarter, down sharply from the $1.47bn loss a year ago that shocked the markets and contributed to Chapek’s dismissal. The company held to its target of reaching profitability in streaming by the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024. 

The Disney+ streaming service added nearly 7mn subscribers, helped by the addition of Elemental, Little Mermaid and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which were released in cinemas earlier in the year. 

However, subscriptions fell 7 per cent at Disney+ Hotstar, the group’s streaming service in India, where Iger is examining whether to sell stakes in its Disney Star businesses or potentially shed its entire holding.

Disney said its free cash flow totalled $3.4bn in the quarter, up about 150 per cent from a year earlier. Investors have been focused on Disney’s cash position as it prepares to acquire Comcast’s 33 per cent stake in Hulu. Disney has offered $8.6bn for the stake, but the final sum will depend on an appraisal process which is expected to conclude next year. 

Disney said on Wednesday that it planned to increase its free cash flow “significantly” in the 2024 fiscal year, to levels approaching those seen before the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.

Disney’s shares have fallen more than 15 per cent over the past year, prompting a renewed challenge from activist investor Nelson Peltz of Trian Partners. The shares were up more than 4 per cent in after-hours trade.