CARP! DHB up to 16's now! LGF 6.76 -.04 reported earnings: Lions Gate Entertainment Reports Fiscal 2004 Revenues of $384.9 Million
Tuesday June 29, 7:01 am ET
VANCOUVER, British Columbia & SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2004--Lions Gate Entertainment (AMEX:LGF - News; TSX:LGF - News):
Company Reports Net Loss of $94.2 Million for Year Due To Artisan Acquisition-Related Costs, Increased Marketing And Distribution Expenses And Non-Recurring Items
Lions Gate Senior Management Revises Fiscal 2005 Revenue Guidance Upward to $680 Million, Reaffirms Fiscal 2005 Guidance of $80 Million In Free Cash Flow And Expects $60 Million in Fiscal 2005 EBITDA
(all results in U.S. dollars)
Lions Gate Entertainment (AMEX:LGF - News; TSX:LGF - News), the premier independent filmed entertainment company, today reported revenues of $384.9 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004. The total includes consolidated revenue from the December 15, 2003 closing date of the Artisan acquisition onward, a period of slightly more than one fiscal quarter. Revenues in the fiscal fourth quarter were $159 million.
The Company reported a net loss of $94.2 million for the fiscal year compared to net income of $1.1 million in the previous fiscal year. This loss included a net loss of $51 million in the fiscal fourth quarter. Fourth quarter financial results included non-recurring items such as the $8.1 million provision for the investment in and other receivables relating to Lions Gate's strategic animation partner CineGroupe, currently in reorganization. Additionally, $36.6 million in theatrical marketing and distribution costs were expensed from Lions Gate's feature film releases THE PUNISHER, GODSEND, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, THE COOLER and DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS. Although P&A from all five films was expensed in the fourth quarter, theatrical revenues from the release of THE PUNISHER and GODSEND will not be reflected until the first quarter of fiscal 2005, and home video and pay TV revenues for all five releases will be reflected throughout fiscal 2005.
Net loss per common share was $1.35 on 70.7 million weighted average common shares outstanding (after giving effect to the Series A preferred share dividends and accretion on the Series A preferred shares) compared to net loss per common share of $0.06 on 43.2 million weighted average common shares outstanding the previous year (after giving effect to the Series A preferred share dividends and accretion on the Series A preferred shares).
"As we anticipated, the integration of the Lions Gate and Artisan theatrical slates led to marketing expense for an unusually large number of wide releases during the fourth quarter," said Lions Gate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer. "The DVD, pay cable and other downstream revenues for these releases will be reflected during fiscal 2005. Combined with our upcoming slate of filmed entertainment product and significant cash flow from our catalog sales, these additional revenues position us to meet our free cash flow and debt repayment targets."
The Company noted that, as of March 31, 2004, its filmed entertainment backlog had increased to $114.1 million, compared to $47.3 million as of March 31, 2003, due to significant international contracts on titles including THE PUNISHER, GODSEND and THE PRINCE AND ME as well as the addition of backlog from the Artisan acquisition.
Fiscal 2005 Guidance Reaffirmed
Lions Gate senior management reaffirmed its February 17, 2004 guidance for fiscal year 2005 (which began on April 1, 2004) of $80 million in free cash flow after debt service. The Company has revised its fiscal 2005 revenue guidance upward from $650 million to $680 million due to continued robust growth in library and home entertainment revenues and anticipated increases in theatrical revenues, and the Company has issued fiscal 2005 guidance of $60 million in EBITDA (defined as earnings before interest, income tax benefit (provision), depreciation and amortization and minority interests). (See attached table for reconciliation of all non-GAAP numbers to U.S. GAAP.)
Principal revenue drivers during fiscal 2004 were the theatrical releases of CABIN FEVER, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING, THE COOLER and CONFIDENCE, among others, and the home video releases of CABIN FEVER, HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES, CONFIDENCE, SECRETARY, HOUSE OF THE DEAD and WILL AND GRACE: SEASONS 1 and 2. Another key component of fiscal 2004 revenue was catalog sales, with more than 500 titles of Lions Gate's approximately 8000-title library contributing more than $100,000 each in revenue during the past fiscal year. Lions Gate Television's prime time cable series, THE DEAD ZONE, continued to generate strong ratings as it entered its third season on USA Network, and the prime time cable series MISSING will soon enter its second season on Lifetime Network.
As announced on May 28, Lions Gate senior management will hold its analyst and investor conference call to discuss its full-year and fourth quarter financial results at 8:00 A.M. PT/11:00 A.M. ET today, June 29, 2004. Interested parties may participate live in the conference call by calling 1-800-553-0288 (1-612-332-0228 outside the U.S. and Canada). A full digital replay will be available from this afternoon, Tuesday, June 29, through Tuesday, July 6, by dialing 1-800-475-6701 (1-320-365-3844 outside the U.S. and Canada) and using access code #733463.
Lions Gate is the premier independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of approximately 8000 titles is one of the largest in the entertainment industry. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgatefilms.com.
The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking statements. In addition, when used in this press release, the words "will," "position," "anticipated," "guidance" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including risk factors as set forth in the Risk Factors sections of our Form 10-K, filed June 29, 2004, our Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed September 25, 2003 and related Prospectus Supplement filed October 9, 2003, with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian Securities Commissions. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect any future events or circumstances.
I guess this is why it slid off the early highs yesterday...I'm not in now as I took my smallish gain late yesterday, but may get back in....tuna |
