Business Week 08

Theater woes

A lack of "Titanic"-like hits and stiffening competition forced exhibitor GC Cos. to report a 55% decline in fiscal first-quarter profit to $1.4 million. Regal Cinemas Inc., taken private via its acquisition of rival Act III Cinemas Inc., posted a $73.5 million loss last year, compared with a $25.2 million profit in 1997. GC, which runs the General Cinemas chain, saw revenue fall 14% to $104.4 million as the company closed several underperforming theaters. Regal saw revenue jump 46% to $707 million.



Cablers mixed

Despite a series of acquisitions and business launches, cablers Cox Communications, MediaOne Group and Jones Intercable Inc. reported mixed 1998 results. MediaOne saw profits soar to $26.3 billion as revenue fell 24% to $2.9 billion and operating cash flow declined 27% to $943 million. Cox went into the black during 1998, posting a $1.3 billion profit, compared with a 1997 loss of $136.5 million. Revenue advanced 6% to $1.7 billion from a year-earlier $1.6 billion, and operating cash flow increased 8% to $659.1 million. Jones Intercable showed a widened 1998 loss of $80.4 million as revenue advanced 27% to $460.7 and operating cash flow jumped 44% to $228.1 million.



Clips

King World Prods. hired former Universal Studios chief Frank Biondi Jr. as a consultant for buying media properties and possibly a film library ... Investment bank Veronis, Suhler & Associates Inc. formed a $1 billion buyout fund to spend on media and communications companies ... Billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. revealed that he purchased an 8.1% stake in TCA Cable Inc. during the past year ... German TV broadcaster ProSieben Media AG reported a 47% profit jump to DM153 million ($88.2 million) as revenue rose 6% to DM1.97 billion ($1.14 billion).

-- Jay Sherman