Friday, November 8, 2024

Lionsgate Revenue Falls As CEO Concedes “Disappointing” Quarter

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Lionsgate released its second quarter financial results that follow the spinoff of the media giant’s studio business into a separately traded stock earlier this year.

The studio, led by CEO Jon Feltheimer, shrunk its first quarter net loss to $177.8 million, compared to a year-earlier $887.9 million loss then due to the impact of non-cash goodwill and intangible asset write downs and restructuring charges in the media networks division.

Lionsgate is the studio behind John WickThe Hunger Games and other movie franchises.

During the latest financial quarter, Lionsgate saw overall revenue falling to $948.6 million, which compares to a year-earlier $1.01 billion. The latest financial frame beat an analyst consensus of $921 million for second quarter revenues. The adjusted per-share loss was 43 cents, which beat an analyst consensus by 5 cents.

During the first quarter, the company’s studios business, which combines the Motion Picture and TV production segments, saw Motion Picture revenue rise to $407.1 million, compared to $396 million in the same period of 2023, while the TV production revenue reached $416.6 million, against a year-earlier $394 million.

The media networks revenue, which is mostly Starz Networks, fell to $347 million, against a year-earlier $416.5 million.

Facing industry-wide disruption, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer didn’t sugarcoat his company’s latest financial results. “In a transitional, disrupted and difficult year for our industry, we reported disappointing financial results in the quarter. Our performance underscores the need to adhere even more rigorously to the risk mitigated business models, slate diversification and strict financial discipline that have always served us well.  The combination of a return to strong content slates, the continued stellar performance of our film and television library and sure-handed execution will put us back on the path to solid growth and shareholder value creation,” he said in a statement.

To mitigate the impact of industry disruption, Lionsgate completed the separation of its studio business from Starz, bolstered its theatrical release slate to an expected three to four tentpoles a year starting in fiscal 2026 and is building out its TV production slate and launching new free, ad-supported streaming channels.

Launching Lionsgate Studios on NASDAQ aimed to give the Hollywood studio options before completing a long-awaited separation of the film and TV studios and Starz, including raising fresh capital and merging with existing businesses.

Lionsgate Studios is made up of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group and Television Studio business, along with a 20,000-strong film and TV library.  

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