CALGARY, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - The Westaim Corporation announced today that for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, it recorded a net loss of $6.9 million or 7 cents per share, on revenues of $5.2 million. In the same quarter last year, the company recorded a net loss of $6.7 million, or 7 cents per share, on revenues of $6.1 million.
Income from continuing operations was $3.2 million for the quarter compared to $1.9 million in the same period last year. The results include a loss from discontinued operations of $10.1 million, primarily reflecting a write-down of capital assets of $7.1 million and severance costs of $2.0 million at the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, iFire Technology Ltd., compared to a loss from discontinued operations of $8.6 million for the first quarter of 2007. The first quarter 2008 results also include a dilution gain of $6.0 million relating to the sale of a non-core wholly owned subsidiary, compared to a dilution gain of $4.5 million in the first quarter of 2007.
At March 31, 2008, Westaim had $38.2 million in consolidated cash and cash equivalents compared to $31.0 million at December 31, 2007. Westaim's cash position, excluding cash and cash equivalents held by its 74.5 per cent owned affiliate NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp., was $14.2 million. In addition, Westaim held asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) with an estimated fair value of $6.0 million.
Tomorrow, The Westaim Corporation is holding its Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Toronto, Canada at 10:00 a.m. EDT. The meeting will be webcast live and is available through the company website www.westaim.com. An archive of the webcast will be posted following the meeting.
The Westaim Corporation's investments include iFire Technology Ltd., and a 74.5 per cent interest in NUCRYST Pharmaceuticals Corp. . Westaim's common shares are listed and on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol WED.
A more detailed discussion of Westaim's 2008 first quarter results can be found at www.westaim.com and www.sedar.com.
CONTACT: David Wills, Investor Relations, (416) 504-8464,
info@westaim.com, www.westaim.com