CALGARY, Aug. 9 /CNW/ - The Westaim Corporation announced today that for
the second quarter ended June 30, 2006, it recorded a net loss of
$12.0 million or 13 cents per share, on revenues of $7.0 million. In the same
quarter last year, the company recorded a net loss of $10.2 million, or
11 cents per share, on revenues of $5.7 million.
At June 30, 2006, Westaim had $84.6 million in cash and short-term
investments.
"We have made important advancements at both iFire Technology and NUCRYST
Pharmaceuticals in the first half of 2006," said Barry M. Heck, President and
CEO of Westaim. "iFire continues to generate positive results from its pilot
manufacturing facility and is moving towards engineering samples of its TDEL
flat panel displays. NUCRYST's second Phase 2 clinical trial is well underway
for a topical cream formulation of its nanocrystalline silver and they remain
on target to release results before year end."
Review of Operations:
iFire Technology
iFire Technology demonstrated high-quality 34-inch high-definition flat
panel display modules manufactured at its pilot manufacturing facility at the
Westaim Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May and to industry peers at the
Society for Information Display conference in June.
Through pilot production, iFire intends to complete the baseline
processes for the manufacture of its displays and focus on continual
improvements to both performance and manufacturing efficiency. The pilot plant
will provide information and experience to allow iFire to work with partners
to construct and operate the first volume production facility. Initial
planning work for this facility is under way.
The pilot facility is intended to simulate manufacturing in a commercial
environment in order to generate repeatability data and engineering samples of
high-definition 34-inch flat panel display modules based on its proprietary
thick dielectric electroluminescent (TDEL) technology. iFire expects to
commercialize its technology in partnership with industry leaders and plans to
initially target the 30- to 45-inch screen size television segment.
NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals
NUCRYST's wound care division reported revenues of $7.0 million in the
second quarter compared to $5.7 million in the same period last year.
NUCRYST's net loss, reported in Westaim's consolidated results, increased to
$3.0 million compared to $0.6 million last year primarily as a result of
higher clinical study and R&D expenditures.
NUCRYST completed patient accrual for its second Phase 2 human clinical
trial of a topical cream formulation of its nanocrystalline silver and the
trial is now underway. The investigational drug (NPI 32101 topical cream) is
being studied for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, a form of eczema, and
other skin conditions. Results of the second Phase 2 human clinical trial are
expected by the end of 2006.
Dr. David Poorvin was appointed to the NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals' Board of
Directors in May. Dr. Poorvin brings with him over 30 years experience in the
pharmaceutical industry. He currently serves as a Consultant for Poorvin
Enterprises and as Executive-in-Residence for Oxford Bioscience Partners. He
is also a Member of the Board of Directors for Enanta Pharmaceuticals and
Repros Therapeutics Inc. NUCRYST also appointed Katherine J. Turner, Ph.D.
Vice President of Research. Most recently Dr. Turner served as Vice President,
Validation Biology at Biogen Idec Inc., where she directed research in
immunology, neurobiology, fibrosis and oncology.
The Westaim Corporation's technology investments include NUCRYST
Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: NCST; TSX; NCS), which develops, manufactures
and commercializes medical products that fight infection and inflammation
based on its nanocrystalline silver technology and iFire Technology Corp.,
which has developed a low-cost flat panel display. Westaim's common shares are
listed on NASDAQ under the symbol WEDX and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under
the trading symbol WED.
SILCRYST(TM) is a trademark of NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Acticoat(TM) is a trademark of Smith & Nephew plc
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements
are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties,
and Westaim can give no assurance that these expectations are correct. Various
factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected
in such statements, including but not limited to statements involving
advancements at iFire and NUCRYST, iFire's progress toward engineering samples
of its flat panel displays, the anticipated timing of results from NUCRYST's
clinical trials, the completion of baseline manufacturing processes for iFire
displays and the focus of pilot production, potential iFire partnering
activities and strategies, the information and experience anticipated from the
iFire pilot plant and intentions related to the use of that plant, statements
related to planning for iFire's first volume production facility, and iFire's
initial target market for its displays. Westaim disclaims any intention or
obligation to revise forward-looking statements whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise. All forward-looking statements
are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
<<
THE WESTAIM CORPORATION
Financial Highlights
(unaudited)
(thousands of dollars except per share data)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30
-------------------------- -------------------------
Consolidated 2006 2005 2006 2005
Statements of
Operations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue $ 6,995 $ 5,708 $ 14,248 $ 10,685
Loss from continuing
operations (11,980) (11,003) (29,986) (19,861)
Net loss (11,980) (10,218) (29,986) (7,686)
Loss per common share
- basic and diluted
Continuing operations (0.13) (0.12) (0.32) (0.21)
Net loss (0.13) (0.11) (0.32) (0.08)
Weighted average number
of common shares
outstanding (thousands) 93,231 92,828 93,077 92,828
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended June 30 Six Months Ended June 30
-------------------------- -------------------------
Segmented 2006 2005 2006 2005
Information -
Continuing
Operations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue
Nucryst
Pharmaceuticals $ 6,995 $ 5,708 $ 14,248 $ 10,685
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Continuing operations $ 6,995 $ 5,708 $ 14,248 $ 10,685
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating loss
Nucryst
Pharmaceuticals $ (3,037) $ (552) $ (6,378) $ (1,239)
iFire Technology (8,915) (7,921) (20,288) (15,400)
Other (including
corporate costs) (422) (2,704) (5,046) (4,225)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Continuing operations $ (12,374) $ (11,177) $ (31,712) $ (20,864)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consolidated Balance Sheets June 30, December 31,
2006 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and short-term investments $ 84,593 $ 119,627
Current assets 101,520 136,169
Other assets 72,836 76,292
Current liabilities 13,606 26,614
Shareholders' equity 132,363 157,640
>>
%SEDAR: 00002793E
