Lions Gate Reports Blockbuster Quarter

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Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) reported third quarter results after the markets closed today. Quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0.27 on revenues of $743.6 million. In the second quarter of 2011, the movie production and entertainment company reported an EPS loss of $0.01 on revenues of $323.03 million. The Thomson Reuters estimates called for EPS of $0.16 and $707.02 million in revenue.

Adjusted to exclude a non-cash expense for early repayment of debt, Lions Gate reported quarterly EPS of $0.39.

The company’s CEO said:

The quarter reflected not only the impact of our young adult franchises but strong contributions from the rest of our theatrical releases and our home entertainment and international operations. Our revenue growth compared to the prior year quarter was matched by continued strong EBITDA and free cash flow that will enable us to continue our focus on optimizing our capital structure and deleveraging our balance sheet.

The 130% revenue increase was due to the U.S. release during the quarter of the latest installment of the Twilight Saga movie. Revenues for the first nine months of the 2013 fiscal year are more than double the prior year’s revenues, and diluted EPS totals $0.51 compared with an EPS loss of $0.12 in the first nine months of the 2012 fiscal year. International motion picture revenue is up six times over the 2012 fiscal year.

The company did not provide guidance with the earnings release, but did say the filmed entertainment backlog contracted for future revenue not yet recorded totaled $1.2 billion at the end of December. The consensus estimate for the current quarter calls for EPS of $0.42 on revenues of $702.77 million. For the 2013 fiscal year ending in March, the consensus estimate calls for EPS of $0.81 on revenues of $2.59 billion.

After posting a new 52-week high of $20.07 earlier today, Lions Gate closed at $19.74 against a prior 52-week trading range of $11.09 to $19.36. Shares have risen about 0.5% to $19.85 in after-hours trading. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $20.80 before today’s report.