LOS ANGELES, Nov 8 Reuters Walt Disney exceeded Wall Street39;s earnings expectations on Wednesday as higher attendance at its Shanghai and Hong Kong theme parks offset a decline in advertising revenue at television network ABC.

Shares of the entertainment company rose 3 in afterhours trading to 87.14, signaling investor confidence in Chief Executive Bob Iger39;s aggressive costcutting, the company39;s betterthanexpected streaming subscriber gains and Iger39;s declaration that Disney had moved into a building phase again.

The company also plans to ask its board to reinstate a dividend payment to shareholders by the end of 2023, interim Chief Financial Officer Kevin Lansberry said.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, Disney reported adjusted pershare earnings of 82 cents, topping an average forecast of 70 cents, according to LSEG data. Quarterly revenue of 21.2 billion was largely in line with consensus estimates.

The company said it added nearly 7 million Disney streaming subscribers in the quarter, with the inclusion of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the original series Star Wars Ahsoka. Disney and Disney Hotstar together boast 150.2 million subscribers, ahead of Visible Alpha39;s estimate of 147.4 million.

Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we39;ve made over the past year, Iger said in a statement. While we still have work to do, these efforts have allowed us to move beyond this period of fixing and begin building our…