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INSIGHT

Major donor Francis Butler wrote to Bishop Leisure Europes theme parks generate
Wilton Gregory, the president of the bishops annual attendance of about 70 million
conference. He told the New York Times: The
crisis of clergy sexual abuse will have pro- people and revenues of around
foundly negative repercussions for Catholic #1.5 billion. It is dominated by one name.
giving in the absence of clear and transparent
financial reporting.
Some experts say that if the church ever
opened its books completely, people would be
Disneys lucky
shocked at the huge amounts of money it has
and the lack of oversight and control there has
been over the finances.
star in Paris
A big part of the confusion is the lack of a
clear structure. There is no such legal entity as
the Catholic Church. The bishops leading Disney shares dropped by more than 26 per cent
Americas 194 dioceses are independent oper- over the last year as the media mammoth suf-
ators financially, and have no obligation to fered setbacks across all its divisions. The big
make their financial statements public or fol- exception was Euro Disney, the French theme
low the general rules of accounting. The park which once teetered on the verge of bank-
American Internal Revenue Service seems ruptcy yet is now Europes most-visited attraction.
unconcerned at their activities and there has But Eisners embarrassment is that when times
never been any accounting. One observer said were tough for the French offshoot, Disney
that people would be shocked if they knew the reduced its stake in the park. Euro Disney, 10
truth. He said: They are run like mom-and- years old this year, has opened a new park in
pop operations. Paris, but Eisner is no longer king of the castle.
While the Vatican may rule on theological
matters, financially the American church is By Christian Sylt in Paris
made up of independent fiefdoms. Its dioceses

T
operate independently of the Vatican and have he Walt Disney Companys woes read
no financial support from Rome. But they do like a cartoon nightmare. Broadcasting
support it. American Catholics are collectively accounts for 20 per cent of Disneys rev-
the largest financial supporters of the Vatican. enues, and the most recent television season
The annual revenues of the nations 18,500 was the worst ever for its ABC TV network.
local parishes total US$7.5 billion. Some dio- Ratings have fallen by as much as 21 per cent,
ceses release audited statements, while others and American chat-show star David Letter-
provide only shards of data in church newslet- man even rejected a move to ABC in March.
ters. The Archdiocese of Chicago, for instance, Disneys internet plans have failed, over 50
which had a budget of US$996 million (#1.01 Disney Stores have been closed (including
billion) last year, prints only parts of its finan- most European outlets outside the UK) and
cial information in a newsletter. even the animated films that were once the
The demands for greater financial account- jewels in Disneys crown are now outshone by
reserves. Forty-seven foundations gave the ability and openness come as lawsuits against the competition. Last year, Disneys Atlantis
American Catholic Church US$200 million the dioceses are multiplying. Since the sexual and The Emperors New Groove were left in
(#203 million) last year and they are now abuse crisis erupted in January 2002, more the wake of Dreamworks US$455 million
wondering why. And that is just the tip of the than 200 priests across the nation have been (#463 million) success Shrek.
giving iceberg. If they are not wondering why removed from duties. In that time, too, at least Disneys US parks have also had a downhill
they gave donations, they are furious at the 300 civil lawsuits contending sexual abuse by roller-coaster ride as the slump in tourism hit
purpose to which their money is being put. clergy have been filed against the church, the theme-park industry, which has annual
They gave to help priests and combat poverty. according to the New York Times. revenues of #7 billion. Walt Disney World
Not to fund hand-outs to victims of sex abuse. Many more are in the pipeline. Last month, resort in Florida alone accounts for about 30
There is suspicion that the church has been a Boston diocese backed out of a settlement per cent of Disneys earnings, and has not
secretly settling sex abuse cases for years. Phil- with 86 plaintiffs at a cost of US$30 million raised its ticket prices during the peak
anthropists have called for an audited report on (#30.4 million), saying it would have crippled summer season this year. But in contrast, Euro
how much money it has spent settling sexual its ability to pay new complaints. In Los Disney CEO Jay Rasulo waved his magic
abuse cases in the past two decades. Angeles, a lawyer who won US$5.2 million wand in March this year and opened the doors
The church will, in the end, have to open up (#5.3 million) from the church last year for a in Paris to a 20-hectare US$530 million (#539
its books to donors. Many are wealthy Ameri- single victim had signed up 100 new clients in million) movies-based theme park, The Walt
cans such as the Miller brewing family, which six weeks. Disney Studios.
contributes up to US$5 million (#5.07 million) Some of us feel very embarrassed and stu- The new park is aimed at a more mature
a year to Catholic dioceses in Milwaukee. Its pid for having supported the church for such a market than the first Disneyland park in Paris,
spokeswoman said: The church should not be long time and never insisted on getting any and the stars are not Snow White and Cin-
a secret society. Were the people of God, and meaningful data back, says James Post, a pro- derella but Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. The
we want transparency. fessor of management at Boston University attractions plunge guests into movie sets
Many Catholics have expressed disappoint- and organiser of a Boston lay group seeking before giving a behind-the-scenes look at how
ment in the United States Conference of such information. special effects and stunts are staged. And after
Catholic Bishops, the policy-setting body for Our trust has been betrayed, and not just a the disastrous launch of the first park, Euro
the Roman Catholic Church in America, for little bit, but in such a catastrophic way that Disney has had many lessons to learn.
not putting financial accountability on the we will not come out of this without an insis- The Studios park has opened amid a trough
bishops formal agenda at a recent seminar tence on greater public reporting on the in the travel industry similar to that which
held in Dallas to discuss the sexual abuse crisis. financial side of the church. EB faced the first EuroDisney park at its

EUROBUSINESS AUGUST 2002 27


INSIGHT

Disneyland Paris
is the smaller
relation to
its Floridian
counterpart but
stands just as tall.

between Eisner and the French government


signed in 1987.
Analysts note that no matter how successful
the Studios park is, it will have little impact on
Disneys bottom line since the company only
gets about US$28 million (#28 million) a year
in management and royalty fees (between five
and 10 per cent of sales) from Disneyland
Paris. But as Disney shares lie low and Euro
launch in April 1992. And within two years Disney stock stays above the key #1 mark, the
of launching Euro Disney, it was on the brink Walt Disney Company could do a lot worse
of bankruptcy, undermined by a recession, than increasing its shareholding in Disneyland
huge building costs, high entrance prices and Paris. Eisner is still hands-on with Disneyland
derision from French critics who dubbed it a Paris. The final design and attraction decisions
cultural Chernobyl. for the new park were even made by him, but
Attendance reached a low of only 8.8m vis- Rasulo doesnt want to presume anything and
itors in 1994. French people were deterred by simply says that he will not anticipate the
Disneys clean-cut insistence on barring alco- actions of the Walt Disney Company.
hol from the theme park, offering a limited The early guest response has been posi-
range of food and favouring English as the tive, says Rasulo but the costs for the Studios
first language in the attractions. The French park have already taken their toll. In May,
staff threatened to strike over the strict presen- Euro Disney reported that its losses had
tation guidelines which forbade moustaches, million. Last year 40 per cent of all visitors tripled in the first half of this year due to the
earrings and long hair. came from France, and the park reported a costs of opening the second park. Its net loss
In March 1994 it was reported that the park record year with turnover of #1 billion. In in the six months to end-March widened to
would close unless banks would restructure its 2001 the company also got another feather in #76.8 million from a #24.2 million loss last
debt from the huge initial building costs of #3 its sorcerers hat as Euro Disney was the best- year. However, as analysts predicted, turnover
billion. The banks involved, Caisse des Dpts performing share on the French CAC index, increased by 4.2 per cent to #437.6 million.
and BNP, eventually agreed and in return Walt where it has been listed since 1989. Rasulo hopes that the new park will increase
Disney paid US$540 million (#550 million) Mickey Mouse has managed to charm the revenues by 1520 per cent and boost the
for a 49 per cent stake in the estimated value of Europeans and since 90 per cent of visitors to operating margin by a similar amount. And
the park. Disneyland Paris arrive overland, either by Rasulo has not ruled out the possibility of the
Euro Disney suspended management fees TGV train, Eurostar or by autoroute, unlike in company issuing its first dividend with the
to its American parent and brought in Saudi the US, the park has not been adversely affect- extra income generated from the second park.
investor Prince Al Waleed, who committed ed by the global downturn in air travel. Earlier in the year, Rasulo said that it was still
US$345 million (#351 million) for a 24 per Disneyland Paris has seen only a 0.3 per cent too early to pay a dividend although it is not a
cent stake in the theme park. Boosted by this drop in attendance since Tuesday 11th Sep- taboo subject. But with on and off-balance
vote of confidence, Euro Disney then issued tember and its hotels reported a record 86 per sheet debt amounting to #2.2 billion against a
US$1.1 billion (#1.1 billion) of new shares. cent occupancy last year. market capitalisation of #1.087 billion, reduc-
The prince now owns 17.3 per cent of the With 12 million guests last year, Disney- ing the companys gearing would seem to be
stock, leaving Walt Disney with 39.1 per cent land Paris is Europes most visited attraction the most logical option.
and individual shareholders controlling the and the fourth most visited theme park in the Rasulo refuses to comment on speculation
remaining 43.6 per cent. world. Its attendance even dwarfs that of three surrounding the construction of a third park.
In a bid to banish the bad memories of the other Disney parks in the US. But Rasulo His prime concern is ensuring the success of
park, the theme parks name was officially wants to rule the roost globally, and with the the second park, but says that value-adding
changed from Euro Disney to Disneyland opening of the Studios park, Disneyland Paris growth opportunities will be the first use of
Paris in October 1994. And under a rescue is challenging the top spot held by Tokyo Dis- cash. Deals with Air Tours, Six Continents,
plan with the then chief executive Philippe neyland, which attracted 17 million visitors Thomas Cook, Envergure and Socit du Lou-
Bourgignon at the helm, park officials cut last year. Our expectation is between 16 and vre have already been signed to add 1,500
ticket prices, introduced alcohol, made French 17 million visitors in the two parks com- rooms across four hotels at the park by 2004.
the main language and pumped publicity bined, he says, insisting that this is a Unlike Eisner, Rasulo has much to smile
behind its launch of a new star attraction the profitable level beyond break-even. about. And as construction is believed to have
100 million (#156 million) Space Mountain The new park has been built on budget and already begun on the Twilight Zone Tower of
roller-coaster. ahead of schedule. And although funding for Terror, a US$170 million (#173 million)
As if by magic the French returned to the the Studios park was secured by a rights issue, thrill-ride from Florida which may open in
theme park, and in November 1995 the com- commitment to constructing a second theme Paris as early as 2004, there are soon sure to
pany announced its first profit, of #300 park by 2003 was enshrined in a covenant be even more reasons to smile in Paris. EB

28 EUROBUSINESS AUGUST 2002

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