by Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney reported a quarterly profit above expectations on Wednesday, in the wake of record revenues from its theme parks and thanks to the continuation of its cost-cutting plan, even if the group published a turnover slightly lower than consensus.

Disney’s board authorized a $3 billion stock repurchase program for the current fiscal year and declared a dividend of 45 cents per share to be paid in July – a 50% increase from to the dividend paid in January.

The title of the entertainment giant rose 7% in after-hours trading.

Ahead of a conference call with investors, the group’s chief executive told a CNBC journalist that Disney would acquire a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, the publisher of the game “Fortnite.” , and collaborate with it to create a “huge Disney universe”.

“This represents Disney’s largest ever entry into the gaming world and provides significant opportunities for growth and expansion,” Bob Iger said in a statement.

Disney’s diluted earnings for the October-December period stood at $1.22 per share, compared to a consensus of 99 cents.

Its quarterly turnover was similar to the same period a year earlier, standing at $23.5 billion, but lower than analysts’ expectations which averaged $23.6 billion.

Disney said it achieved $500 million in savings across its operations in the fourth quarter, indicating it remains on track to achieve $7.5 billion in savings by the end of the fiscal year. current.

The group is under pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who notably aims to reap profits similar to those of Netflix for Disney’s “streaming” activities.

“Only a year ago, we detailed an ambitious plan to return The Walt Disney Company to a period of sustained growth,” said Bob Iger. “Our strong performance over the past quarter shows that we have turned the corner and entered a new era of growth for our company.”

Disney has reiterated that the streaming division should become profitable by next September. The group reduced the division’s operating loss to $138 million in the fourth quarter, compared to nearly $1 billion about a year ago.

Grouped under a division called Experiences, Disney’s theme parks, hotels, cruise ships and consumer products reported record fourth-quarter revenue and operating profit of $9.1 billion and $9.1 billion, respectively. $3.1 billion.

This performance is partly the result of the opening of new attractions in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

(Reporting Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine; Jean Terzian)

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