Lionsgate revenue sank 24 percent to $323 million in the third quarter as it released no new films and its home entertainment releases struggled as compared to last year.
The company missed analysts’ expectations for both revenue and profits with its third quarter report, even though its profit margins improved. The street had predicted the company would finish in the black, but it announced losses of $1.7 million — an improvement over the $6 million loss posted a year ago.
CEO Jon Feltheimer acknowledged the film division’s weak performance, but said he expected that to improve following the company's merger with Summit Entertainment in January.
"We had no wide theatrical releases in the quarter, but we received solid contributions from our other operating divisions and another strong performance by EPIX," Feltheimer said in a statement. "We're very excited about the opportunities created by our recent acquisition of Summit Entertainment.”
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Some of the debuts approaching include the home entertainment release of “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1” and the theatrical releases of “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2.”
The reduced losses were a product of the profits from EPIX, a joint venture with Viacom and MGM, which posted a profit of $7.3 million after a loss of $11.1 million a year ago. All told, the profit from digital was up 80 percent to $62.4 million.
By comparison, film revenue sank 29 percent to $233.3 million with both the theatrical and home entertainment sides down considerably.
Television production revenue declined seven percent to $89.7 million as it delivered fewer episodes.