The Wall Street Journal-20080212-Earnings Digest Brief -- Lions Gate Entertainment Corp-- Third-Quarter Profit Falls Despite Surge in Revenue

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Earnings Digest Brief -- Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.: Third-Quarter Profit Falls Despite Surge in Revenue

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Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter profit dropped sharply, weighed down by higher expenses and a wider investment loss, though revenue surged 14%, driven by strong box office, international and television-production revenue. The Santa Monica, Calif., producer and distributor of independent films, which operates as Lionsgate, said expenses rose to $285.8 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $230.9 million in the year-earlier quarter. The company's loss from equity investments was $1.25 million in the latest quarter, compared with $425,000 a year earlier. Motion picture revenue rose to $254.1 million from $221.6 million a year earlier. Television production revenue rose to $36.8 million from $32.9 million, driven by deliveries of episodes of "Mad Men," "Weeds Season 3" and "Wildfire Season 4."