Lions Gate’s loss narrows in second quarter

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., the biggest independent film studio, reported a narrower fiscal second-quarter loss on gains from home entertainment and TV.

The net loss for the period ended Sept. 30 narrowed to $48.1 million, or 41 cents a share, from $58 million, or 49 cents, a year earlier, the producer of the “Saw” movies said. Sales rose 8.2% to $380.7 million, missing the $382-million average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Lions Gate, based in Vancouver, Canada, and operated from Santa Monica, is reducing costs by eliminating jobs. The staff had grown to 550 from 350 in the last three years through acquisitions that included Mandate Pictures and British video distributor Redbus, according to a report by analyst Matthew Harrigan of Wunderlich Securities in Denver. The reductions may save the company $10 million a year, he wrote. He recommends the shares, which he doesn’t own.

“The Family That Preys” was the company’s biggest release in the period, with $37.1 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada, according to online movie tracker Box Office Mojo.