The Walt Disney Company failed to meet estimates in several key areas in its last quarter of 2016, but broke records on the revenue and net income it achieved.

Earnings per share came in 5 per cent lower than expected, and revenue declined 2.7 per cent year on year to US$13.1bn (€12bn, £10.3bn). However, Disney, whose financial year ends on 1 October, reported its annual revenue was up 6 per cent to a record US$55.6bn (€51.1, £44bn) and net income rose 12 per cent to US$9.4bn (€8.6bn, £7.4bn).

While ongoing issues with Disney’s ESPN arm contributed to Q4 declines, such as falling subscriptions and advertising revenues, the theme parks and resorts division remained stable, reporting a 1 per cent rise in revenue to US$4.4bn (€4bn, £3.5bn).

The parks division reported a 5 per cent decrease in operating income due to lower attendance at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, though results from Shanghai Disney Resort helped compensate those losses.

Walt Disney World Resort also performed well with increased per person spending, thanks to higher admission, hotel and food and drink prices. A small decline in attendance compared with the same period last year may be because the quarter was a week shorter than in 2015.

“We’re very pleased with our performance for the year, delivering the highest revenue, net income and earnings per share in Disney’s history,” said Bob Iger, CEO.

“Fiscal 2016 was our sixth consecutive year of record results, highlighted by the opening of Shanghai Disney Resort, the phenomenally successful return of Star Wars, and our Studio’s record-breaking US$7.5 billion in total box office. We remain confident that Disney will continue to deliver strong growth over the long-term as we further strengthen our brands and franchises, our technological capabilities and our international presence.”