Walt Disney has reported 3 per cent drop in quarterly profits as the weak US economy continued to damage the company's advertising and theme park attendance.

Disney earned $479m in the third quarter, down from a net income of $495m for the same period last year. Including charges for closing down the Go.com internet portal, the net income was further reduced to $392m.

In March, the company cut its global workforce by three per cent, in an attempt to cushion the impact of a weaker US economy. A sharp fall in advertising sales from the US corporate sector led to a 29 per cent decline in operating income, but the group's theme parks were more stable, falling about one per cent after low attendance figures.