Cinema firm sees profit drop 46%

Movie-theater operator Regal Entertainment Group Inc. said its third-quarter profit fell 46%, hurt by higher expenses.

Profit for the quarter ended Sept. 25 fell to $31.6 million, or 21 cents a share, from $58 million, or 36 cents, a year earlier. The latest quarter’s results exclude a loss on debt extinguishment, a gain on the sale of the company’s interest in Fandango and a gain on a deal related to its joint venture National CineMedia.

Revenue edged up less than 1% to $757.6 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predicted a profit of 28 cents a share on sales of $756 million. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.

Shares of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal fell $2.53 to $10.79.