Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Reports Profit for 3rd Consecutive Quarter

The new management team at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. produced the company’s third straight quarterly profit, aided by the appeal of one very bankable star: Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan.

MGM on Tuesday reported first- quarter net income of $5.2 million, or 3 cents per share, contrasted with a loss of $306 million for the same period last year. The company beat the forecasts of analysts, who had expected 1.9 cents per share.

MGM stock closed up $2.13 at $26.06 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Although much of the credit for the film studio’s turnaround is given to new Chief Executive Alex Yemenidjian and his team, installed last year by investor Kirk Kerkorian, Brosnan could share the spotlight for the company’s latest results. It was record income from the James Bond thriller “The World Is Not Enough” and the home video and DVD sale of last year’s “The Thomas Crown Affair,” movies starring Brosnan, that boosted MGM’s income during the quarter.

The studio achieved its results without any major film release during the quarter. It didn’t need one. Revenue increased 33% to $344 million from $259 million in the same quarter last year largely because of the continued worldwide theatrical run of “The World Is Not Enough,” the 19th installment in the Bond series.

The film is on track to earn more than $350 million, making it the most profitable Bond film ever, executives said.

The Bond franchise also produced income from the interactive “Tomorrow Never Dies” game.