Lions Gate Swings To Q1 Profit, Tops View

(RTTNews) - Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) Thursday reported a swing to profit in the first quarter from a loss last year, led largely by growth in revenues at its TV production and home entertainment segments and as well as on lower expenses. Both earnings and revenues for the quarter came in ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Lions Gate, the company behind Twilight series and Hunger Games movies, said revenues for the first quarter grew 21 percent to $569.7 million from $471.8 million last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had a revenue estimate of $522.95 for the quarter.

"We're pleased with our first quarter results, with particularly strong contributions from our diversified television slate, packaged and digital media and our robust international performance," said Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer.

The company attributed the revenue growth to a strong performance at its television production, home entertainment and international operations, which masked the absence of the blockbuster performance of 'The Hunger Games' last year.

Lionsgate's home entertainment revenues from both motion pictures and television climbed 16 percent, driven by a slate of films like Warm Bodies, The Impossible and Texas Chainsaw 3D. International motion picture revenues surged 63 percent, mainly by strong international performance of this summer's sleeper hit 'Now You See Me,' which has grossed more than $233 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

Meanwhile, a sequel to the 2012 blockbuster Hunger Games-- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, will release on November 22, 2013. The studio's Hunger Games and Twilight series movies have combined worldwide gross collections of more than $4 billion.

Revenues in the TV production unit more than doubled to $131.1 million, reflecting strong gains in licensing of domestic television series and international sales.

"The fact that our quarter compared favorably to a first quarter last year that included most of the domestic release of the first Hunger Games film illustrates the diversity of our business. The appetite for content is growing, domestically and internationally, across multiple platforms and, as a pure content company, we are well positioned to capitalize on this demand," Feltheimer added.

Santa Monica, California-based Lions Gate's first-quarter profit was $13.6 million or $0.10 per share, compared to a loss of $44.2 million or $0.33 per share a year ago.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $25.1 million or $0.18 per share compared to a loss of $26.3 million or $0.20 per share.

On average, nine analysts expected the company to earn $0.08 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Marketing costs for the quarter declined from a year ago. Last year's bottom line was also impacted by a non-cash charge for paying down a significant portion of Summit term loan debt early. Lions Gate completed the $412.5 million acquisition of Summit Entertainment last year.

LGF closed Thursday's regular trade at $34.23, up $0.20 or 0.59%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $0.58 or 1.69% in after-hours trade.