3rd-Quarter Earnings Drop 37% for Matthews Group

Matthews Studio Equipment Group, citing the recession’s impact on the movie industry, reported a 37% drop in fiscal third-quarter earnings compared with a year earlier.

In the quarter that ended June 30, Matthews, which rents and sells production equipment to Hollywood, said its net income fell to $322,926 from $508,965 a year earlier. Its revenue edged up 4% to $6.45 million from $6.24 million.

The company said it continues to be hurt by “substantially lower rental prices caused by the uncertainties of the prolonged recession.”

Matthews’ profit for the first nine months of its fiscal year fell 19%, to $888,358 from $1.10 million a year earlier, and its nine-month revenue rose 3%, to $18.5 million from $18 million.