Lions Gate Profit Lifted By Latest Installment Of "The Hunger Games"

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. said Thursday it had net income of $98.2 million, or 65 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter, up from $88.8 million, or 59 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $751.3 million from $839.9 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 64 cents and revenue of $784 million. The TV and film distributor said earnings were boosted by the release of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1", strong TV series licensing, lower marketing costs, a lower tax rate and higher earnings from its equity investments. Shares were slightly higher in after-hours trade, and are down 8.5% in the last three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.9%.