Lionsgate Posts Q4 Loss

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER: Due in part to costs associated with its acquisition of Summit Entertainment, Lionsgate recorded a fourth-quarter net loss of $22.7 million on improved revenues, boosted by The Hunger Games and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, of $645.2 million.

The independent studio’s revenues rose 71 percent as compared with the year-ago period, led by theatrical revenues from The Hunger Games in North America, the home-entertainment release of the third Twilight film and strong television and library revenues. Net loss for the period was $22.7 million, as compared with the year-ago profit of $48.7 million. Lionsgate attributed the loss in part to $38 million in costs associated with the January 2012 acquisition of Summit, plus theatrical marketing costs.

For the fiscal year, revenues were $1.59 billion, with a net loss of $39.1 million. "Fiscal 2012 was a milestone year with the acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the rollout of our record-breaking film The Hunger Games, continued growth in library revenues and the increasing profitability of our diversified television business," said CEO Jon Feltheimer. "With substantially all of the profitability of the first Hunger Games film and this November’s release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 still ahead of us, we have great visibility and have set the stage for anticipated strong EBITDA, free cash flow and earnings in the years ahead."