Disneyland Paris Announces Its First Quarter Results - Plus : First Ratatouille Ride Ad

Disneyland Paris posted today its First Quarter Announcement with financial results for this 2014 fiscal year 1st quarter. And the results are... bad! To be honest, although the resort revenues decreased 5% during this first quarter DLP had the luck that the average guest spending increased 4% in the parks and 6% in hotels which helped to reduce the bad results. The economy situation in Europe is still indeed not very good but these results also mean that the ( very ) good efforts that the park did on the 2013 Halloween and Christmas seasons didn't paid as much as expected. It's a pity because they did a real good job and they deserve better results.

You have the full corporate release below but the number which is not written on it - and the one which interest the most DLP fans - is the one about DLP profit or cash flow. Why? Because depending on the profit DLP makes each year depends the fate of new rides in the park. Right now the Ratatouille ride will open at the end of June but then, and although DLP has plenty of projects waiting at DLP Imagineering, if they don't find the money by themselves to build new attractions DLP fans might have to wait some years before riding them. At least until someone at the WDC will have an epiphany and understood that there is no other way to save DLP than helping them financially to open new rides in the parks each year or so...

Talking about Ratatouille, Disneyland Paris released in Germany - and apparently only in Germany - its first Ad for the Ratatouille ride. You have the video below but you won't learn a lot about the ride itself in this Ad as it's entirely done with clips from Pixar animated movie, probably because the works are not enough advanced yet to film inside the show building. But the good question is: why DLP released now this Germany only Ad, even without ride images? Here is what i think is the reason why: DLP biggest competitor in Germany is Europa Park which will open next April - i.e three months before Ratatouille opening - a big sophisticated "E-Ticket" family ride inspired by Luc Besson famous animated series "Arthur and the Minimoys". For sure Europa Park will make a huge advertising campaign on their new ride and the problem for DLP is that they need Germans visitors. Germany's economy is doing well in Europe and in this bad economy times Germans have indeed more money than Spaniards or Italians, so DLP probably wants to make sure that they're aware that a major ride will open soon to DLP and that Germans will keep their money to come to DLP WDS for the Ratatouille ride...




Anyway, have a read of the DLP corporate release below, the Annual general meeting is scheduled for February 12, and we might know a bit more about DLP future when it will happen. Not sure, though... 


EURO DISNEY S.C.A. Fiscal Year 2014
First Quarter Announcement

• Resort revenues decreased 5% reflecting lower theme parks attendance and hotel occupancy linked to the continued economic softness in Europe
  
• Average guest spending increased 4% in theme parks and 6% in hotels reflecting the Group’s strategic focus on improving the guest experience
  
• Opening of the new Ratatouille-themed attraction in early Summer 2014
  (Marne-la-Vallée, February 4, 2014) Euro Disney S.C.A. (the "Company"), parent company of Euro Disney Associés S.C.A., operator of Disneyland® Paris, reported today revenues for its consolidated group (the "Group") for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2014 which ended December 31, 2013 (the "First Quarter"):
  

Resort operating segment revenues decreased 5% to €304.9 million from €320.7 million in the prior-year period.
Theme parks revenues decreased 3% to €172.9 million from €179.0 million in the prior-year period due to a 7% decrease in attendance, partly offset by a 4% increase in average spending per guest. The decrease in attendance was mainly due to fewer guests visiting from France, Spain and the Netherlands. The increase in average spending per guest was due to higher spending on admissions and merchandise.
Hotels and Disney Village® revenues decreased 6% to €122.4 million from €129.8 million in the prior-year period due to a 9.6 percentage point decrease in hotel occupancy and lower Disney Village activity, partly offset by a 6% increase in average spending per room. The decrease in hotel occupancy resulted from 51,000 fewer room nights sold compared to the prior-year period, primarily due to fewer guests visiting from France, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as lower business group activity. The increase in average spending per room resulted from higher daily room rates, partly offset by lower spending on food and beverage.
Other revenues decreased by €2.3 million to €9.6 million from €11.9 million in the prior-year period, mainly due to lower sponsorship revenues.

Real estate development operating segment revenues decreased by €4.9 million to €1.4 million, from €6.3 million in the prior-year period. This decrease was due to one land sale closed in the prior-year period while no land sale closed in the First Quarter. Given the nature of the Group's real estate development activity, the number and size of transactions vary from one year to the next.
Commenting on the results, Philippe Gas, Chief Executive Officer of Euro Disney S.A.S., said:
"In a still challenging economic environment, we realized lower attendance and occupancy as compared to last year, which resulted in a 5% decrease in resort revenues. However our strategy aimed at increasing guest contribution helped us offset some of the attendance and occupancy weakness as we achieved record guest spending in both our parks and hotels for a first quarter.
Even though we remain prudent given the current economic environment, we believe the fundamentals of our business are strong and we are confident in our long-term strategy focused on investing in the guest experience. The opening of our new Ratatouille-themed attraction this summer fully reflects this growth strategy."

RECENT AND UPCOMING EVENTS

New Ratatouille-themed attraction announced for Disneyland® Paris in early summer 2014
Last year, the Group announced a new attraction based on the Disney•Pixar movie Ratatouille. This unique attraction, which is scheduled to open in the Walt Disney Studios® Park in early summer 2014, will take guests into the world of Remy – a talented young rat who dreams of becoming a renowned French chef. Disney storytelling, combined with state-of-the-art technology, will create the magic of this romantic, larger-than-life, Parisian experience. For more information, please refer to the press release issued on February 28, 2013 which is available on the Group's website. 

Picture: copyright Max Fan

Video and part of the text: copyright Disneyland Paris