Madagascar 3's international success drives DreamWorks results

REUTERS - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc's third-quarter results beat analysts' estimates, riding t he international box office success of "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted".

The company said Madagascar 3, which released in June, raked in nearly $720 million worldwide, of which 70 percent was from international markets.

DreamWorks' last movie for 2012, "Rise of the Guardians", featuring the voices of Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman and Jude Law among others, will release on November 21 in the United States.

The company expects fourth-quarter results to be driven by that film as well as the continued international success of Madagascar 3 and its home video release.

The animation studio behind the hugely successful "Shrek" and "Kung Fu Panda" franchises said net income rose to $24.4 million, or 29 cents per share, in the third quarter, from $19.7 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company, which competes with Walt Disney Co's Pixar among others, said revenue rose 16 percent to $186.3 million, a quarter of which came from Madagascar 3.

Analysts, on average, had expected earnings of 11 cents per share on revenue of $139.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy filmmaker George Lucas's Lucasfilm Ltd and its "Star Wars" franchise for $4.05 billion, a blockbuster deal that includes the surprise promise of a new film in the series in 2015.

DreamWorks shares, which have risen about 13 percent in the last six months, closed at $20.61 on the Nasdaq. (Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore; Editing by Maju Samuel and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)