Westaim announces 2008 year-end results

About this update from Westaim Corporation

[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nCALGARY, Feb. 18 /CNW/ - The Westaim Corporation announced today that for\nthe year ended December 31, 2008, it recorded a net loss of $10.2 million, or\n11 cents per share, on revenues of $22.4 million compared to a net loss of\n$58.0 million, or 62 cents per share, on revenues of $31.8 million in the\nprevious year. For the three months ended December 31, 2008, the Company\nposted a net income of $2.7 million, or 3 cents per share, compared to a net\nloss of $26.8 million, or 28 cents per share, in the same period in the\nprevious year.\n\n\nThe loss from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2008\nwas $1.7 million compared to a loss of $2.8 million in 2007. At the operations\nlevel, this improvement resulted from lower manufacturing and research and\ndevelopment costs compared to 2007 and $4.9 million of severance costs\nincluded in the 2007 results, all of which was offset by $10.1 million\nmilestone revenue earned by NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. in 2007. The\nimprovement in results also benefitted from a $7.3 million favourable change\nin foreign exchange gains as a result of the stronger U.S. dollar in 2008 as\nwell as lower write-downs in the value of asset-backed commercial paper\n(ABCP). These improvements were partially offset by an $8.7 million gain on\nthe sale of real estate in 2007. The loss from discontinued operations, which\nincludes windup and operating costs at the Company's wholly owned subsidiary,\niFire Technology Ltd., declined significantly in 2008 to $8.5 million compared\nto $55.2 million in 2007. This improvement is the result of reduced operating\ncosts of $26.7 million and lower severances and net asset write-downs in 2008\ncompared to 2007.\n\n\nAt December 31, 2008, Westaim had $46.8 million in consolidated cash and\ncash equivalents, compared to $31.0 million at December 31, 2007. Westaim's\ncash position, excluding cash and cash equivalents held by its 74.7 per cent\nowned subsidiary NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp., was $18.0 million. In\naddition, Westaim held ABCP with a book value of $4.3 million.\n\n\n"Westaim's strong cash position is a significant advantage for the\nCompany as we continue our review of strategic alternatives," said Drew Fitch,\nPresident & CEO of Westaim. "Westaim's cash resources, together with the\nreturn of capital to be received...

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