DreamWorks sees 45% profit decline

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc said fourth-quarter profit fell 45 percent as the studio's latest DVD release "Kung Fu Panda" failed to match revenue from "Shrek the Third" a year earlier.

Net income dropped to $51.6 million, or 58 cents a share, from $94.1 million, or 98 cents, in the year-ago period, Glendale, California-based DreamWorks Animation said today in a statement. Profit, including a 12-cent tax benefit, missed the 62-cent average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Studios including DreamWorks Animation have been hurt by shrinking DVD sales, even with films such as "Panda," the sixth biggest box-office seller in U.S. and Canadian theaters last year. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg said in December the company will produce TV shows, branch into live events and release 3-D movies to combat the decline. "Monsters Vs. Aliens," its first 3-D film, opens on March 27.