MGM Reports Mixed Financials, Confirms Carl Icahn Sold Stake

1:36 AM PDT 8/16/2012 by Georg Szalai

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The privately held studio, which recently said that it is exploring an IPO, expects revenue growth thanks to "Skyfall" and "The Hobbit."

MGM, the privately held movie studio that is looking at a possible IPO, late Wednesday reported mixed second-quarter financials, but said its revenue will start rising "significantly" in the fourth quarter.

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The company also indirectly confirmed that activist investor Carl Icahn has divested his stake in MGM. Without naming Icahn, MGM said that it bought the stake of "a stockholder" for $590.4 million.

The company reported a quarterly profit of $42.1 million, compared with $12.2 million in the year-ago period quarter. But that was due to a one-time gain of $55.7 million due to the sale of part of its TV business.

Revenue declined from $195.4 million to $128.4 million. The company cited "the lack of revenue from new release content moving through initial television windows, the sale of The Cabin in the Woods during the prior year's second quarter, the continuing decline in the physical home entertainment market and a strategic moratorium we imposed on new DVD shipments for James Bond franchise titles."

But MGM added: "We believe revenue will significantly increase above current levels beginning in the 2012 fourth quarter when we release Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai