DLP on it's way towards profit

davewasbaloo · April 27, 2007, 09:41:47 AM

Today the half year results have been announced by DLP:

http://www.eurodisney.com/data/311.pdf

The direction of travel is encouraging:

- Revenues increased 10% to € 513 million

- Operating margin before depreciation and amortization up € 26 million to € 39 million

- Net loss decreased € 20 million to € 82 million

Theme park admissions, hotel occupancy and average guest expenditure are all up! Now they are only making 82m Euro loss as opposed to last year's 102m euro loss. This is excellent news. If DLP can continue the momentum (Cars and Crush Coaster open June 07, Tower of Terror Jan 2008, and Stitch Encounter in Summer 2008. Couple this with the introduction of Extra Magic Hours,the new 15th celebrations, and finally some decent park specific merchandise, the future looks quite bright!!! What a great birthday present.

Maybe one day DLP will actually make a profit and not be a loss leader. :lol:

Soap · April 27, 2007, 10:47:18 AM

=D> That sounds very great indeed!!! Keep up the good work DLRP!

ChipChap · April 27, 2007, 12:38:03 PM

WOW go on like that

I hope the best for Karl Holz and DLRP to finally make money someday :lol:

Anthony · April 27, 2007, 07:40:04 PM

And maybe even more impressive - attendance up 10.9% to 6.1m! If that continues for the whole year, we could see attendace hit its highest ever mark - higher than when WDS opened! This doesn't even include the 15th Anniversary effect either.

Hotel occupancy back up to 83.1% is great too.

Karl Holz must surely be the best of the current Disney resort chiefs by far, it's just constant good news for us these days - both financial and in terms of quality improving. That period of good news from 1995-1998 seems to be repeating itself - I just hope they keep it going this time.

Nala_84 · April 28, 2007, 11:04:23 AM

Great to hear that they've made more profit

And of course it's good they make quality improvements. But I think visits there also get more expensive year by year what is not good for poorer families and people... If the prices increase more and more I soon can't afford it anymore going there

!

Dlrpfan · April 28, 2007, 11:11:04 AM

WOOOOOO! great news keep on profiting DLRP

davewasbaloo · April 28, 2007, 11:28:59 AM

Quote from: "Nala_84"Great to hear that they've made more profit

And of course it's good they make quality improvements. But I think visits there also get more expensive year by year what is not good for poorer families and people... If the prices increase more and more I soon can't afford it anymore going there !

While I appreciate that, it is very expensive to run an operation like DLP. It's not an amusement park. I would rather save up longer and get a real Disney experience, rather than what we have endured for the last 10 years. It seems like DLP is moving back in the right direction.

speedpacket · April 28, 2007, 11:38:30 AM

Quote from: "davewasbaloo"
Quote from: "Nala_84"Great to hear that they've made more profit

And of course it's good they make quality improvements. But I think visits there also get more expensive year by year what is not good for poorer families and people... If the prices increase more and more I soon can't afford it anymore going there !

While I appreciate that, it is very expensive to run an operation like DLP. It's not an amusement park. I would rather save up longer and get a real Disney experience, rather than what we have endured for the last 10 years. It seems like DLP is moving back in the right direction.

Exactly - for the big rushes and pure amusement park entertainment/kicks, we would go to alton towers or any of the national amusement parks we have in Belgium...

For great atmosphere, and terific themeing, and that special disney feeling, we would behappy to pay more (and save more) if they increase quality and make it even more fantastic...

I don't think you can ever compare a Disney themepark to a "regular" amusement park, and that said - Disney is really cheap if you compare what you get...

For your entrance fee you don't only get great attractions, but also great shows (Lion King, parades, live music entertainment...) al included in that price!!! Have you ever gone to an amusement park and in the evening gone to a concert? You'll have lost much more money than you did in a Disney themepark, and there you have it all combined into one magical place!!!

Yes, you pay a lot in Disney, but Disney is not expensive - that are two entirely different things...

davewasbaloo · April 28, 2007, 12:09:27 PM

Quote from: "speedpacket"
Quote from: "davewasbaloo"
Quote from: "Nala_84"Great to hear that they've made more profit

And of course it's good they make quality improvements. But I think visits there also get more expensive year by year what is not good for poorer families and people... If the prices increase more and more I soon can't afford it anymore going there !

While I appreciate that, it is very expensive to run an operation like DLP. It's not an amusement park. I would rather save up longer and get a real Disney experience, rather than what we have endured for the last 10 years. It seems like DLP is moving back in the right direction.
Exactly - for the big rushes and pure amusement park entertainment/kicks, we would go to alton towers or any of the national amusement parks we have in Belgium...

For great atmosphere, and terific themeing, and that special disney feeling, we would behappy to pay more (and save more) if they increase quality and make it even more fantastic...

I don't think you can ever compare a Disney themepark to a "regular" amusement park, and that said - Disney is really cheap if you compare what you get...

For your entrance fee you don't only get great attractions, but also great shows (Lion King, parades, live music entertainment...) al included in that price!!! Have you ever gone to an amusement park and in the evening gone to a concert? You'll have lost much more money than you did in a Disney themepark, and there you have it all combined into one magical place!!!

Yes, you pay a lot in Disney, but Disney is not expensive - that are two entirely different things...

I would even go as far as to call Disney cheap for the value you derive! But then I think Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show is a great price, while others feel it is expensive. It's cheaper than buying a cowboy hat, going to dinner followed by a show. It's great value.

anthony2k6 · April 28, 2007, 02:23:14 PM

Quote from: "Nala_84"Great to hear that they've made more profit

And of course it's good they make quality improvements. But I think visits there also get more expensive year by year what is not good for poorer families and people... If the prices increase more and more I soon can't afford it anymore going there !

They're a long way from making a profit if im reading it right...? They've just made less of a loss.

They need to make a profit within the next 2 years else cash will run out.

(assuming I was reading those results right!)

speedpacket · April 28, 2007, 03:10:19 PM

Quote from: "davewasbaloo"I would even go as far as to call Disney cheap for the value you derive! But then I think Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show is a great price, while others feel it is expensive. It's cheaper than buying a cowboy hat, going to dinner followed by a show. It's great value.

Yes - I always say that as well... Especially if you go to the good restaurants - 25 - 30 EUR for a good quality 3-course menu which often includes a great piece of salmon or other fish, is EXTREMELY cheap.

Personally, I really don't understand where people are getting the idea of Disney being expensive - you really should compare value to value if you are talking prices, and what you get at Disney is REALLY cheap.

The Buffalo Bill show is the best example indeed!!! For such a show (I just saw Cavalia in Belgium a few weeks back, which was great, but costed us 85.00 EUR per seat!!!!), including dinner, drinks and a hat, 53.00 EUR is just way to cheap really!!!

If you would go to c 2 hour show (let's continue with the Cavalia example), and go and have dinner on the same night, it would easily cost me 120 EUR on some occasions... (and then I'm just considering 35 EUR for the dinner, which is not going to get me there at all...)

Again, the fact that Disney still has a lot of losses that they need to cover actually proves that you get incredible value for your money! Disney is not expensive at all, and I'm glad I finally found someone that shares my point of view there...

For me the goosebumps Disney often brings to people definitely is worth the money...

Anyway - I'm very glad with the results they have now, operational wise, that balance is really good in fact with a nice margin. It's just that they still carry a long a lot of debts that generates an additional annual cost on the interests they need to pay on those loans... So as far as I can see the figures are fine really, and from an investors point of view, if they manage to get some loans repaid in the future, ths would be a profitable organisation indeed.

Keep on enjoying the magic!!!

anthony2k6 · April 28, 2007, 08:40:04 PM

are the loan payments now being made? werent they put on hold for a while?

speedpacket · April 28, 2007, 10:01:41 PM

Quote from: "anthony2k6"are the loan payments now being made? werent they put on hold for a while?

Yes, they are, but just becuase you do not repay your lend capital, doesn't mean you are not having to pay interests for the fact that you did actually borrow the money for the time...

Believe me - I develop software for the banking industry, and this just means that they have to pay interests now without repaying any of the capital, and thus shifting that for future times...

Consider you have a mortgage loan on your house in the amount of 250.000 EUR, and you have to pay 4% anual interest rate. In this case, it would mean, you would need to pay 10.000 EUR a year just for having the money, and that payment would not decrease the outstanding loan; the next year, your debt will still be 250.000 EUR, because you only paid 10.000 EUR interests, and nothing of the capital that you borrowed.

I hope that makes sense - if it doesn't, let me know

anthony2k6 · April 28, 2007, 11:00:37 PM

i think i get it, kinda like an interest only mortgage.

basicly their debt is still increasing, and their out goings need to increase significantly sooner or later to get that debt paid off.

speedpacket · April 28, 2007, 11:43:35 PM

Quote from: "anthony2k6"i think i get it, kinda like an interest only mortgage.

basicly their debt is still increasing, and their out goings need to increase significantly sooner or later to get that debt paid off.

Yep - that's it.
They just don't need to worry about their cash flow at this time as they just need to pay the interests, and worry about the payback in capital later on...

Cheers,
David.