Lionsgate reported second-quarter earnings of $31.7 million off revenue of $393.7 million, driven by strong growth in television production and from the TV Guide Network and TV Guide.com.
Reporting quarterly earnings through Sept. 30 for its fiscal 2010 calendar, the Vancouver-based company said its recently acquired TV Guide assets contributed $27.7 million to its revenue, which increased 3 percent from the same period a year ago.
Television production revenue, meanwhile, increased 30 percent year-to-year to $88.9 million, driven by deliveries of cable series including “Weeds,” “Mad Men” and “Crash,” as well as syndicated offerings that include “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne," “Meet the Browns” and “The Wendy Williams Show.”
For Q2 of fiscal 2009, the company reported a net loss of $51.8 million, while suffering through the aftermath of money-losing theatricals including “Bangkok Dangerous,” “Disaster Movie” and “My Best Friend’s Girl.”
This time around, motion picture revenue was down 11 percent year-to-year to $277.1 million. This was based largely on the fact that the company only had two widely released films in the quarter – “Gamer” and “Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself” — compared to four in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, television distribution of films – counted in the motion picture category – saw a 10 percent bump in revenue to $68.2 million, driven by movies including “Saw V,” “Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys” and “W.”
Mandate Pictures’ revenue, which included the theatrical release of the Drew Barrymore-directed “Whip It,” increased 21 percent to $25.7 million.
This helped offset a 25 percent decline in home entertainment revenue to $123.4 million.
