DreamWorks Animation Second-Quarter Earnings Drop

DreamWorks Animation on Tuesday posted lower second-quarter earnings and revenue.

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The company, led by CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, reported a profit of $12.8 million, compared with $34.1 million in the year-ago period. That's a 63 percent drop and came in below Wall Street expectations.

Revenue declined 25 percent from $218.3 million to $162.8 million.

"DreamWorks Animation's second quarter of 2012 was driven primarily by the box-office performance of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year," said Katzenberg. "The third and biggest film in our blockbuster Madagascar franchise has surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office to date, with a large number of key international territories yet to come."

The movie contributed about $54.8 million of revenue to the latest quarter, while Puss in Boots contributed $22.8 million, driven primarily by home entertainment. That 2011 film reached an estimated 5.2 million home entertainment units sold worldwide through the end of the second quarter.

Another 2011 film, Kung Fu Panda 2, also continued to contribute strongly, with $46.4 million of revenue in the second quarter, driven primarily by domestic pay TV revenue.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai