Embattled Dreamworks Animation realized worse-than-expected losses of nearly $55 million, the company reported when it released its Q1 2015 earnings on Thursday.
Including the impact of the company’s restructuring plan, DWA reported net loss of $54.8 million, or a loss of $0.64 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Analysts had forecast a loss of $0.45 per share.
The company also reported adjusted earnings per share of a loss of $0.25 per share on $166.5 million in revenue, which was slightly higher than industry predictions, but not enough to offset the cost of the company’s revitalization efforts.
Yahoo Finance forecast a $0.45 per share loss on $164.5 million in revenue based on eight analysts’ estimates. Zack’s predicted a per share loss of $0.49 based on six estimates.
Reported revenue was higher this time around than the same period a year ago, when sales came in at $147.2 million, and losses amounted to a negative $0.51 cents per share.
The company attributed its success in the first quarter of 2015 to worldwide home video revenues from “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and “The Croods” and “Madagascar 3’s” international TV revenues, as well as other properties’ home entertainment and TV revenues.
Last quarter, 2014’s Q4, the company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $247 million and also confirmed that it intends to sell its Glendale headquarters for $185 million and lease the property back to save money.
On Thursday, the day it released Q1’s financials, DWA closed at $26.06 per share, down $0.02 or 0.08 percent.
Adjusted financial results exclude a $31.9 million pre-tax charge associated with the company’s restructuring plan announced on Jan. 22, 2015.
During a call with investors following the report, CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg stressed that “Home” will recoup its $135 million production budget and about the same P&A budget at some point during the second quarter of 2015.
“While 2015 is a transitional year for us, the worldwide box office performance of ‘Home’ serves as early evidence that the changes we’re making in the core feature animation business are working,” Katzenberg said Thursday.