Despite a lack of major box office success during the industry-wide slump in the second quarter of 2024, Lionsgate was able to reduce its losses in its latest quarterly report on Thursday.
Lionsgate reported first quarter revenue of $834.7 million, operating income of $18.8 million and net loss of $59.4 million, or 25 cents diluted net loss per share. In Q2 of 2023, Lionsgate reported a loss of $70.7 million on revenue of $908.6 million.
Adjusted net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders in the quarter was $20.9 million, or 9 cents adjusted diluted net earnings per share, beating Zacks Investment Research’s projections of 2 cents per share.
“We’re pleased to report a solid quarter despite unprecedented industry disruption and the aftereffects of the strikes,” CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement.
Lionsgate’s studio business reported revenue of $588.4 million, a decrease of 5.9% from the prior year quarter. This drop was attributable to a 15% decrease in revenue for the motion picture division to $347.3 million.
While segment profit increased by 24% due to lower production and marketing spending, the overall revenue dropped due to a lack of major box office success compared to last year’s “John Wick: Chapter 4,” with the studio’s highest grossing film at the box office being “The Strangers: Chapter 1” with $43.5 million grossed worldwide.
The TV division saw the opposite trend, with segment profit decreasing 53% but overall income increasing 10%. Lionsgate says that revenue was “driven by contributions from eOne, while segment profit growth was impacted by lingering impacts of the strike on the timing of deliveries in a heavily backloaded year.”
This is Lionsgate’s first earnings report since Lionsgate Studios debuted as a standalone, publicly traded NASDAQ company, formed by combining Lionsgate’s studio business with the SPAC Screaming Eagle. The studio, which consists of Lionsgate’s film and TV business along with a 20,000+ title library, was separated from its streaming service, Starz.
Lionsgate Studios’ stock has held even Thursday at $7.25/share at time of writing.
