Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment is improving its performance but the company's investment in Mandalay Pictures continues to drag it down. According to financial results for the year ended March 31, 2000, the company posted a 129% increase in revenue, from $79.8m (C$118.3m) to $183m (C$271m), and a 110% increase in gross profit from $15.5m (C$23m) to $32.7m (C$48.4m). However, the bottom line saw a net loss, including the company's equity pick up of the non-cash operating loss in Mandalay Pictures, of $3.6m (C$5.3m) or $0.11 (C$0.17) per share.

In a statement, Lions Gate Vice chairman and CEO Jon Feltheimer suggested the company is closer to turning its fortunes, citing its June acquisition of Trimark Pictures. "Entering fiscal 2001 with the Trimark merger places us in position to expand our distribution and take advantage of the digital marketplace. Trimark provides an excellent fit and extends our reach further into the US entertainment marketplace,'' Feltheimer said.

Motion picture revenue lead the way with an 89% increase to $98.5m (C$146m), driven by the strong performance of Kevin Smith's Dogma, a film picked up from Miramax when its satirical take on Christianity proved too hot to handle.