香港迪士尼七年连蚀 亏损24亿略收窄

Hong Kong Disney has suffered seven consecutive years of losses, with a loss of 2.4 billion slightly narrowed. It will not lay off employees and refuses to introduce unpaid leave. It has no plans to adjust ticket prices.

Affected by the ongoing epidemic, Hong Kong Disneyland lost 2.35 billion yuan in the 2021 fiscal year ended October 2 last year, which has been "red" for seven consecutive years. However, it was narrower than the 2.66 billion yuan loss in the 2020 fiscal year. Hong Kong Disneyland Resort CEO Mok Wai-ting said that there have been no layoffs in the park in the past two years. Even if there is no government "employment protection" plan this year, there will be no reduction in employees. At the same time, in preparation for the reopening of the park, there are no plans to introduce unpaid leave, and there is no intention to adjust ticket prices.

Attendance increased by 64%, all local customers

The performance report shows that the park had 5,000 full-time and more than 1,200 part-time employees during the year. In fiscal year 2020, Disneyland was only open for 154 days. Last year, despite being hit by social distancing and crowd restrictions, the number of operating days increased to 215, and about 40% of the remaining days were closed. Revenue increased by 19% year-on-year to NT$1.716 billion, and attendance increased by 64% to 2.8 million. All of this was driven by local guests, who soared by 117%.

The annual hotel occupancy rate increased by 6 percentage points to 21%. In the absence of inbound tourists, the park's per capita consumption and hotel room consumption fell by 24% and 11% respectively.

Use the parent company’s 2.1 billion revolving credit

In terms of costs, operating costs and expenses during the year decreased by 7.6% year-on-year to NT$2.686 billion, reflecting efforts to significantly control costs, including unpaid leave, reduction of marketing costs and cancellation of certain seasonal activities. However, the increase in operating days of the park and the related costs of epidemic prevention measures offset part of the above reduction.

The park pointed out that it began to use 2.1 billion yuan of revolving credit provided by parent company Disney during the year to support working capital and business needs. Mo Weiting did not disclose the amount of funds that had been used, and said that the park had no plans to apply for capital injection from the government. After the park reopens, it is expected that guest consumption will drive revenue.

As of the end of fiscal year 2021, the park still had cash of 625 million yuan, a decrease of 344 million yuan from 969 million yuan in fiscal year 2020. This was mainly due to annual project expenses and net cash consumption from operating activities, while the use of revolving credit and shareholders' capital injection for expansion and development plans offset part of the decline.

If customs clearance is delayed, analysis is expected to continue to see red

Mok Wei-ting also said that he welcomes the latest announcement of the authorities on epidemic prevention measures. The park is expected to reopen on April 21. After that, it will focus on local guests and will conduct promotional activities. Last year, the number of local guests and annual "Magic Access" admissions reached a record high. Although the park's recent suspension of operations has dragged down revenue, it will attract a large number of local guests after reopening. Moreover, the performance in the first quarter of this fiscal year (i.e., from October to December last year) was very good, and he is optimistic about the full-year performance. As for whether the ticket price will increase this year, he bluntly stated that inflation and other factors will be taken into account when adjusting the price. However, the park divided the tickets into two different prices last year, so there is no intention to adjust the selling price.

Li Zhaobo, an honorary teaching and research scholar at the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business Studies of the CUHK Business School, believes that under the severe operating environment, Disneyland has had no layoffs in the past two years, cost control has been ideal, and EBITDA has improved. The park’s revenue growth is entirely driven by local customers, but local customers’ consumption is limited. If it still fails to pass the customs this year and lacks stimulation from mainland and international tourists, the park’s performance may “see red” again.