Lionsgate earnings jump on television growth

Lionsgate, the studio behind the “Hunger Games” film series, increased sales and profit in its second quarter, benefiting from television production revenue that more than doubled.

The Santa Monica-based entertainment company on Thursday posted net income of $20.8 million, or 15 cents a share, for the three months that ended Sept. 30. That’s up from $505,000, or $0.00 a share, in the same period last year.

Earnings exceeded Wall Street analysts’ expectations of 11 cents a share.

Revenue for the quarter was $552.9 million, up 11% from a year ago.

The firm was propelled by growth in its television division, which contributed $154.9 million in the quarter thanks to shows including “Manhattan,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “Mad Men.” Sales for the TV segment increased about 140% year-over-year.

The company, which also boasts series “Anger Management,” “Houdini” and “Nashville,” ramped up production, delivering more than triple the number of hours of programming it had in the prior-year quarter.

The TV uptick helped make up for a softer quarter for theatrical releases and home entertainment. The company had only two wide releases, “The Expendables 3” and “Step Up: All In.”

According to Box Office Mojo, the “Expendables” sequel grossed about $206 million worldwide, while “Step Up All In” has took in $86 million.

For Lionsgate’s overall motion picture segment, revenue came in at $398 million, down 8% from a year ago when it benefited from two wide releases, plus continued revenue from the sleeper hit “Now You See Me” and the Spanish-language success “Instructions Not Included.”

Theatrical sales were $44.9 million. Home entertainment revenue dropped to $164.4 million from $209.9 million.

This month, Lionsgate will release “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1,” the first installment in the two-part finale of the popular series that stars Jennifer Lawrence.

“We’re pleased that our entire portfolio of businesses contributed to our solid results in the quarter, driven by a particularly strong performance from our television operations,” said Lionsgate’s chief executive Jon Feltheimer, in a statement.

“It was a quarter in which we extended our franchises into new lines of business, continued to assemble a strong pipeline of new properties with great commercial potential and developed online platforms that will enhance our ability to deliver our content directly to the consumer,” he said.

The company reported earnings after the close of the financial markets in New York. Shares of Lionsgate rose more than 5% in after-hours trading after closing at $32.06.

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