COVID-19: Disney swings to loss as coronavirus clobbers revenue

Los Angeles: Walt Disney Co. on Thursday said it swung to a loss in the just-ended quarter as the global pandemic hit its theme parks and cinema operations.

The media-entertainment powerhouse reported a loss of $710 million (Dh2.6 billion) in the period ending October 3, compared with a $777 million profit in the same period a year ago. Revenue slumped 23 per cent from last year to $14.7 billion.

But Disney shares jumped in after-hours trade on news that its recently launched streaming television service Disney+ had hit 73 million subscribers in a positive sign for the company shifting to compete with rival like Netflix.