Lionsgate Posts $89 Million Q3 Profit, Record Revenue

6 Feb, 2014 By: Erik Gruenwedel

---

Lionsgate Feb. 6 reported third-quarter (ended Dec. 31) profit of $88.9 million on record revenue of $840 million. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based mini-major posted profit of $37.8 million on revenue of $744 million during the previous-year period.

The revenue surge was driven by the domestic and international box office performance of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as well as contributions from domestic theatrical releases Ender's Game and A Madea Christmas, and strong international performances from Red 2, Escape Plan and Now You See Me.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has grossed $860 million at the worldwide box office, a 25% increase over the first "Hunger Games" film.

Lionsgate's home entertainment revenue from both motion pictures and television was $200.7 million — down about 14% from $233 million for the prior-year quarter. It attributed the drop to the release of three wide theatrical releases on home entertainment platforms in the quarter compared with six wide theatrical releases delivered to home entertainment platforms in the prior-year quarter.

Meanwhile, the studio’s filmed-entertainment library had one of its best quarters ever, generating $148.6 million in revenue, a 10% increase from $135 million in the prior-year quarter.

Television revenue included in the motion picture segment increased 7% to $105.8 million, driven by titles such as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2, Warm Bodies, Sinister, Snitch and Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor.

International motion picture segment revenue (excluding Lionsgate U.K.) of $117.1 million in the quarter increased 31% from $89.5 million in the prior year quarter as Catching Fire led a strong slate that also included Red 2, Escape Plan and Now You See Me.

Lionsgate U.K. posted its best ever quarterly revenue of $55.9 million , a 53% increase from $36.6 million in the prior year quarter driven by the U.K. theatrical release of Catching Fire and the third-party title Olympus Has Fallen.

Revenue in the Television Production segment was $82.3 million in the quarter, a 17% increase from $70.1 million in the prior year quarter as domestic and international television posted gains that offset a decline in home entertainment revenue from television production. Episodes of “Anger Management,” “Nashville” and Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” were among the shows delivered in the quarter.

“Our results in the quarter were attributable to our operating performance, the favorable environment for content and the benefits from our strong balance sheet,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement. “We will continue to invest in content and embrace innovative models for licensing that content to digital and traditional platforms alike in order to build on this performance and create additional long-term value for our shareholders.”

 

Bookmark it: