Lionsgate has released its third quarter financial results while exploring a possible sale or spinoff of the premium cable and streaming platform Starz or its studio business.

The studio swung to a third quarter net income at $16.6 million, against a year-earlier loss of $45.6 million, on overall revenue rising to $1 billion for the three months to Dec. 31, 2022, compared to a year-earlier $885.4 million.

Lionsgate posted an adjusted earnings per-share at 26 cents, compared to a year-earlier per-share loss of 12 cents, which in the latest financial quarter beat an analyst estimate by 38 cents.

“We reported a strong financial quarter with record trailing 12-month library revenues affirming the value of our intellectual properties. We enter our fourth quarter with encouraging signs across all of our businesses: a rebounding domestic box office just as we bring our biggest slate in years to theaters; renewals of six key Lionsgate Television series during or immediately after the close of the quarter; and improved STARZ economics due to its international reorganization,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement.

Lionsgate gave little away as explores its options for Starz, including a possible separation of the pay TV and streaming business and its studio operations. The goal appears to be creating two standalone companies so investors can value the Starz and studio assets separately.

But its latest financial results did include an $80.8 million content write-down as it restructures its Lionsgate+ business, or formerly the STARZPLAY International division, after removing certain TV series from its service. That’s in line with content writedowns taken by rival media players across the industry.

Also during the latest quarter, the media networks division, which is mainly Starz, saw segment revenue of $380.3 million, compared to a year-earlier $388.9 million. Starz during the latest quarter added 400,000 international subscribers, to offset a loss of 1.1 million domestic subscribers in the sequential quarter.

Starz subscribers are up 2.8 percent year-over-year, when factoring seven international markets that the premium platform is exiting. Lionsgate will exit Lionsgate+ markets in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, the Nordic regions and in Japan. The studio will remain with Starz internationally in the UK, Latin America and Canada. 

The studio business, made up of the film and TV production divisions, saw revenue rise 25 percent to $894.2 million. And the motion picture segment revenue rose 5 percent to $288.8 million.

While some potential suitors appear to see Starz as a streaming platform, others are looking at Lionsgate and its programming library as a possible indie studio acquisition as digital titans like Apple and Amazon muscle into Hollywood.

Lionsgate is touting its 17,000-strong programming library as difficult to replicate and an appealing target for a bigger media player looking to bolt on an indie studio. And despite volatile financial markets, the entertainment industry has seen a recent spate of mergers and acquisitions as major players dive into the streaming space and indie studios get bought up for scale and content.