Dreamworks Animation Skg

Viacom Inc. said it withstood a weak U.S. advertising market in the second quarter with a strong film slate led by "Iron Man" and strong sales of the Rock Band video game. Revenue climbed 21% to $3.86 billion, topping analyst estimates, as New York-based Viacom's movie business surged 35% to $1.77 billion. Three films -- Paramount Pictures' "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," as well as "Kung Fu Panda," which Paramount distributed for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. -- have grossed $837 million at the domestic box office.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. said second-quarter profit declined 55% as "Kung Fu Panda" collected about half the ticket sales of last year's "Shrek the Third." Net income fell to $27.5 million, or 30 cents a share, from $61.8 million, or 60 cents, a year earlier, the Glendale company said. Excluding a tax benefit, profit of 28 cents a share topped the 23-cent average of analysts' estimates. DreamWorks Animation shares rose 50 cents to $31.29.

Paul Allen, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft Corp., sold $35.3 million in shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., dropping to its sixth-largest shareholder. Allen sold 1.17 million shares this week for $30.22 to $30.44 each, according to a regulatory filing. He still owns 3.07 million shares of the Glendale-based company. DreamWorks Animation is trading at its highest level since November after it reported first-quarter profit and revenue last month that beat analysts' estimates.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. paid Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg $11 million in stock and option awards last year, more than double his 2006 total. Katzenberg received $8.66 million in stock awards and $2.38 million in option grants, according to a regulatory filing. He took $1 in salary, unchanged from 2006.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. said Tuesday that it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter as revenue rose 42% from a year earlier, led by the blockbuster performance of "Shrek the Third." The Glendale-based company said net income rose to $94.1 million, or 98 cents a share, compared with a loss of $21.3 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier. Revenue reached $290.2 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, expected the company to post earnings of 72 cents a share on revenue of $277 million.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. plans to build a theme park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in partnership with Tatweer, a unit of government-owned Dubai Holding. The park will encompass 5 million square feet and feature characters from DreamWorks Animation films, the companies said.

Paramount Pictures Corp. and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., makers of the animated film "Bee Movie," settled claims by a honey-products company that they copied its "give bees a chance" slogan. BeeCeuticals, a skin-care products maker owned by Howard Stern's cousin Richie Gerber, agreed to settle the trademark-infringement case this month, according to papers filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Gerber, a personality on Stern's radio talk show, filed a federal trademark application for "give bees a chance" a year ago, according to the complaint.

Hewlett-Packard Co. on Monday jumped into the business of providing the technology -- and building the rooms -- for large companies to hold virtual face-to-face meetings regardless of the distance between participants. HP's Halo Collaboration Studio offers a nearly immersive environment where people can see each other, talk and collaborate remotely as if they were in the same room. The underlying network, built and serviced by HP, minimizes delays and never crosses the public Internet.

DreamWorks Animation SKG, the creator of the Shrek films, promoted Bill Damaschke to be head of creative production and development and hired Kristine Belson as head of development. Damaschke, who has been at DreamWorks Animation for 10 years, will report to Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg and Chief Operating Officer Ann Daly, Glendale-based DreamWorks Animation said. Belson will report to Damaschke.