Lions Gate Posts Lower Q1 Profit

(RTTNews) - Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) reported net income for the first quarter of $40.7 million or $0.26 per share, compared to $43.3 million or $0.30 per share for the yar-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the first quarter was of $48.9 million or $0.33 per basic share, compared to $56.8 million or $0.41 per basic share in the prior year quarter.

Revenue for the first quarter fell to $408.94 million from $449.38 million a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.07 per share on revenue of $429.75 million for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates tyically exclude special items.

Lionsgate's filmed entertainment backlog, or already contracted future revenue not yet recorded, rose to an all-time high of over $1.3 billion at June 30, compared to $1.1 billion at March 31.

The company anticipates 13 wide releases during the remainder of the fiscal year, including The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, Allegiant - Part 1, the supernatural thriller The Last Witch Hunter and the critically-acclaimed revenge thriller Sicario.