Euro Disney sees 4% rise in quarterly sales

The Euro Disney theme park near Paris said that its sales rose to 358 million euros ($444 million) in the quarter ending in June thanks to a rise in visitors and their spending. In the first nine months of its financial year that ends in September, the company's sales rose by 2.3 percent to 908.8 million euros. "Despite the general wait-and-see consumer behavior, we believe the third quarter performance marks an encouraging trend," chief executive Philippe Gas was quoted as saying in a statement, released on Tuesday. He expressed confidence the commitment of employees and the attractivness of Disneyland Paris, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, would continue to generate growth but made no projections about annual results. In May, Euro Disney reported a 22-percent increase in its net loss for the first half of its financial year at 100.8 million euros and warned it might have to take cost-cutting action. At that point sales were down 8 percent 552.4 million euros. Sales at the theme parks rose by 6.0 percent to 207.8 million euros, with the number of visitors up by 2.0 percent and spending per visitor increasing by 3.0 percent. Hotels and restaurants outside the park saw sales rise 1.0 percent to 138.6 million euros, with a rise in room prices counterbalanced by a drop in occupancy rates, especially by Spanish and Dutch visitors.