Lionsgate Posts Quarterly Profit

Lionsgate has reported quarterly revenue of $813.7 million and net income attributable to shareholders of $51.1 million, with library revenues at record levels thanks, in part, to the recent syndication of Mad Men. 

“We’re pleased to report a quarter with strong financial results in which all of our priorities were evident,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “During the quarter we took steps to monetize our film and television library, embraced innovative distribution strategies for our films, and acquired new properties while renewing others.  Most important, it was a quarter in which we used all of our resources to continue growing a unique, valuable and scalable global streaming platform at Starz.”

Library revenue in the quarter grew to a record $219 million driven by strong demand for content and revenues from the recent syndication of Mad Men.

Revenue from the media networks segment was stable at $367.3 million while segment profit increased 18.5 percent to $71.8 million driven by lower losses at StarzPlay International. Starz Networks domestic OTT subscribers grew to 7.4 million in the quarter and the company’s global OTT subscribers increased to 11.4 million in the quarter.

Motion picture segment revenue was down by 29.4 percent to $280.7 million and segment profit was $101.1 million. The performance in the movie segment reflects the impact of theater closings related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, reduced theatrical P&A expenses and increased home entertainment and library revenues.

Television production revenue dipped 30.1 percent to $195.7 million, primarily due to the timing of production schedules and episodic deliveries impacted by production delays related to COVID-19. Segment profit increased 39.6 percent to $34.9 million reflecting the recent syndication of Mad Men.