Disney Co. Net Dips 29%; Park Attendance Off

With theme park attendance off sharply, Walt Disney Co.’s second-quarter earnings dropped 29% from a year earlier, while revenue rose 10%, the company reported Thursday.

Net income was $126.6 million, compared to $178.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 1990, according to Disney. Revenue was $1.44 billion, a gain from the $1.30 billion reported last year. For the six-month period ended March 31, revenue rose 13% to $2.93 billion, while earnings decreased 16% to $297.1 million.

Disney Chairman Michael D. Eisner and President Frank G. Wells said business companywide was hurt by the Persian Gulf War, cutbacks in international travel and the recession.

But the theme park division was especially hard hit. Operating income was off one-third from a year ago, at $130.7 million, compared to $194.5 million for last year’s second quarter. Overall, theme park and resort revenues declined 6% from the previous quarter to $671 million.

Burbank-based Disney’s filmed entertainment unit also suffered a downturn. Operating income declined 20% for the quarter to $46.2 million, while revenue rose 31% to $613 million.

Entertainment industry analysts had predicted lower earnings in the wake of the Gulf War and the recession. And Disney executives last month told shareholders, who have become accustomed to steady gains, to expect bad news. Jeffrey Logsdon, an analyst with Seidler Amdec Securities in Los Angeles, said Disney’s earnings should improve in the coming quarters.

“There will be some lag time between the end of the war and attendance picking up, but you will definitely see some positive signs by the end of the third quarter,” Logsdon predicted.

Consumer products income was down 7% for the quarter from a year ago, at $55 million. Revenue from the segment rose 24% for the quarter to $155 million.