Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. on Thursday said it moved to a fiscal first-quarter profit from a year-ago loss, boosted by home entertainment sales and revenue from TV shows such as “Mad Men.”
After the markets closed, the Santa Monica film and TV company reported net income of $13.6 million (10 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $44.2 million (-33 cents) in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue rose 21 percent to more than $569 million. Home entertainment revenue alone rose 16 percent, driven by a slate that included “Texas Chainsaw 3D” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.”
Excluding stock-based compensation, profit was 18 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average had expected adjusted profit of 8 cents a share on revenue of $524 million.
Chief Executive Jon Feltheimer said the strong showing was an indication of the company’s diversity, with revenue from TV production, home entertainment and international operations offsetting lower theatrical revenue.
“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 said in a statement.
Share earlier closed up 20 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $34.23 on the New York Stock Exchange and rose 2 percent in after-hours trading.