Lions Gate Swings to Profit in Quarter

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Double-digit revenue increases in production, distribution and its library division enabled Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to report first quarter net income that exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Santa Monica-based Lions Gate reported after Friday’s market close first quarter net income of $7.1 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a loss of $53.1 million, or 45 cents per share, last year. Revenue jumped 50 percent to $298.5 million for the quarter ended June 30. Reuters Estimates said analysts had expected a loss of 3 cents per share on revenue of $283.9 million.

Theatrical revenue and television revenue, buoyed by films like “The Forbidden Kingdom” and the hit TV show “Mad Men,” jumped 61 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Home-entertainment revenue rose 47 percent on DVD sales of titles that included “3:10 To Yuma” and the re-release of “Rambo.”

Lions Gate expects to have double-digit revenue growth for its 2009 and 2010 fiscal years, also exceeding Wall Street expectations. Analysts were expecting revenue to increase 12 percent to $1.53 billion in the current fiscal year.

Shares of Lions Gate were up 13 cents, or 1 percent, to $10.61 in mid-morning Monday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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