DreamWorks Animation profit falls below Wall Street estimates

DreamWorks Animation, the Glendale studio behind the “Shrek” and “Madagascar” movies, reported lower-than-expected financial results for the second quarter.

For the quarter ended June 30, the company reported net income of $12.8 milion, or 15 cents per share, down 62% from a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter also fell sharply, declining 25% to $162.8 million.

Analysts had forecast net income of 25 cents per share.

“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 Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation. “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.”

DreamWorks, which like other studios has been buffeted by a slowdown in DVD sales, said costs of revenue for the quarter equaled $114.2 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $30.8 million, including about $5.2 million of stock-based compensation expense.