By : Chris Tribbey | Posted: 11 Aug 2008
ctribbey@questex.com

Replicator Cinram is preparing for a wave of fourth quarter Blu-ray Disc titles, installing more replication lines this summer, company CEO Dave Rubenstein said.

Rubenstein also confirmed, during a second quarter earnings call, that Cinram will be handling replication duties for one of the biggest movies ever, The Dark Knight.

Revenue for the Toronto-based company rose during the second quarter (ended June 30) to $412.8 million, compared to $345.1 million during the same period in 2007. Cinram posted net losses of just more than $7 million, compared to a loss of $26.6 million during the same period in 2007.

As for Blu-ray, Rubenstein said that while household attach rates to the high-def format remain low compared to DVD, he expects fourth quarter 2008 to be huge for the format — and huge for Blu-ray replicators.

“As the attach rate grows … we expect [our Blu-ray demand] to get bigger,” he said. “We've installed some more machinery to handle the fourth quarter needs.”

Cinram replicated 246 million DVDs during the second quarter of 2008, compared to 209 million during the same period last year. For Blu-ray, Cinram reported replication revenue of $5.1 million in the second quarter, up from $4.2 million during the same period in 2007.

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