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Oriental Land Raises Profit Estimate on Disney Visits (Update1)
By Masumi Suga

Urayasu, Japan, April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Oriental Land Co., which operates Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, said annual profit was probably more than double its original forecast after more people than expected visited the two theme parks.

The company said net income probably rose to 12.7 billion yen ($97.7 million) in its fiscal year ended March 31, more than the 5.9 billion yen it projected in November and up from 4.74 billion yen the year before.

Sales probably totaled 281 billion yen, 2.3 percent higher than the previous estimate, the company said in a statement filed with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Oriental Land's ability to attract visitors has allowed it to weather a slowdown in consumer spending that's followed job and wage cuts across Japanese industry.

Total visitors to the two theme parks reached 22.05 million during the fiscal year ended March 31, above its forecast of 21.6 million, Oriental Land said in the statement. A reduction in maintenance and other costs, and higher-than-expected hotel occupancy levels contributed to the improved earnings.

The company operates the theme parks on the east side of Tokyo under license from Walt Disney Co. DisneySea opened in September.

Oriental Land paid 12.5 billion yen in royalties to Walt Disney Co. in the year ended March 31, 2001, said company spokesman Kiyotaka Hayakawa. That's 6.8 percent of sales on a parent company basis, which excludes subsidiaries. Hayakawa said the company doesn't disclose the figures on a consolidated basis.

Oriental Land shares today fell 10 yen to 8,080. The new profit estimate was released after the close of trading.