MGM posts bumper 4th quarter earnings with help of "Skyfall," "The Hobbit"

 　　LOS ANGELES, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. reported a 40.2-million-U.S.-dollar fourth quarter earnings¹ in 2012 on Monday, a remarkable² feat³ which was buoyed⁴ up by the screening of two popular movies of "Skyfall" and "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" in the global marketplace.

　　The two box-office blockbusters, each garnering⁵ more than 1 billion dollars in ticket sales, helped boost MGM's revenues to 902.6 million dollars during the three months ending on Dec. 31. In 2011, the 89-year old studio posted 11.3 million dollars in loss while notching⁶ 136.7 million dollars in revenue.

　　"I am very pleased with our strong results for 2012, reinforcing my optimism about the future of MGM," Chairman and CEO Gary Barber said in a statement. "With back-to-back films each grossing worldwide box office in excess of 1 billion dollars, MGM now has two of the top 15 films in box-office history."

　　Since emerging from bankruptcy⁷ in December 2010, MGM has secured 500 million dollars in credit and is looking for more in light of its recent success.

　　In July 2012, it filed for a possible public offering of its stock that would allow the former debt holders⁸ who are now its owners to start selling their holdings.

　　For 2012, MGM almost doubled its revenue to 1.4 billion dollars while increasing its net income by 64 percent to 128 million dollars, according to the statement.

1 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

4 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 garnering   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• And at the forefront was Bryant, garnering nothing but praise from his coaches and teammates. 而站在最前沿的就是科比，他也因此获得了教练和队友的赞美。 来自互联网

6 notching   

adj.多级的（指继电器）n.做凹口，开槽v.在（某物）上刻V形痕( notch的现在分词 )；赢得；赢取；获得高分

参考例句：

• Results are very linear and free from phase notching. 结果非常线性，没有相位凹口。 来自互联网
• This means that the system only improves, always notching forward, never backsliding. 这意味着系统只能够被改进，总是向前的，从不会倒退。 来自互联网

7 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

8 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。