Banks debt may derail Euro Disney profit ride

TROUBLED theme park group Disneyland Paris, the entertainer formerly known as Euro Disney, has produced higher profits for its last financial year but appearances can be deceptive. Like the archetypal Disney cartoon character who avoids a speeding train only to run into a brick wall, Disneyland Paris has found a temporary financial respite in the eye of its particular financial hurricane. The refinancing of bank debt (including a temporary moratorium on interest payments), lower entrance and hotel prices and new entertainment attractions produced a 77 per cent rise in net income to £24 million last year, a more meaningful yardstick than profitability given the £1.8 billion burden of bank debt. The looming brick wall is the reintroduction of bank interest payments, suspended when the group was refinanced two years ago.

At 205p in May the shares have moved back to a current 132p and failed to react to the improved income trend. The equity looks vulnerable to further slippage.