A light three months saw Lionsgate revenues slip in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 (quarter ended June 30, 2014).
The company, which put out movies such as Ivan Reitman‘s “Draft Day” during the period, reached revenues of $449.4 million, it announced on Thursday, which missed analysts’ predictions. On the bright side, Lionsgate far surpassed estimates for its profits; the company put up 36 cents adjusted income per share, beating predictions. Overall, it made $49.6 million in net income.
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“We’re pleased to report strong adjusted EBITDA, earnings and free cash flow generation in what is historically our lightest quarter of the fiscal year,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “During the quarter we deepened our portfolio of brands and franchises, extended our global reach and formed entrepreneurial partnerships with digital and traditional platforms alike as we used our strengths as an innovative pure play content company to position ourselves for continued growth and profitability in an increasingly dynamic industry environment.”
The revenue took a sharp hit from the same period last year, when the company took in $569.7 million. Filmed entertainment dropped to $331.9 million from last year’s $438.6 million.
The downturn, Lionsgate reported, came from releasing one fewer movie and delivering fewer episodes of hit “Mad Men” to AMC. That series will end next year.