Fox Posts $55-Million Loss; Film Unit Blamed

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. on Wednesday reported a $55.9-million net loss for its third fiscal quarter ended May 25, attributing it to “unsuccessful results” for theatrical films released in the period.

Fox’s new box-office releases in the quarter were “Porky’s Revenge” and “Moving Violations.” However, the studio pronounced itself “pleased” by the performance thus far of two fourth-quarter releases, “Prizzi’s Honor” and “Cocoon,” and looks for better times next year.

“What they (the two films) will do is be profitable rather than unprofitable,” Barry Diller, chairman and chief executive since last October, said in a telephone interview. “Given the past, that is no small feat--not that it’s a feat I had anything to do with.”

Diller said that he was not responsible for choosing or making either picture but was pleased that “they work.”

Meanwhile, Fox’s net loss for the third quarter on revenue of $140.2 million was four times as great as its $13.9-million net loss on $157.5 million in revenue in the same period of fiscal 1984.

Its nine-month net loss of $80 million on $468.1 million in revenue was five times greater than the $15.9-million net loss on $624.4 million in revenue at the same point last year.

The company said, however, that it expects to finish fiscal 1985 about even with last year. Since Fox’s nine-month net loss already is about the size of the previous full year’s loss, the company indicated that it expects to be close to breaking even for the fourth quarter.

Diller said Fox looks forward to “having a good year” in fiscal 1986.

“This has been our plan since probably six months ago, when we began to get a handle on the status of the company,” he added.

Fox said it expects that future performance will be improved as a result of the recently completed reorganization of both its operating and financial structure.

As previously reported, publisher Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of 50% of Fox’s parent holding company from oilman Marvin Davis has been completed. This resulted in about $132 million in new equity for Fox, which received $37.5 million of it during the third quarter, the company said in a 10-Q filing reporting its quarterly results to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fox said that its bank credit has been increased and that previously announced financing within its CBS/Fox partnership was completed May 31. The latter is to bring the company $135 million cash.

Pursuant to the arrangement, the 10-Q showed, the CBS/Fox partnership has already issued $75 million of promissory notes to a group of private investors and distributed $60 million of the proceeds to Fox.