Avid Technology reported a loss of $31.9 million on revenues of $206.7 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. The results were off by 20 percent and 112 percent respectively from the same period in 2007, when the company posted a profit of $3.9 million on revenues of $285.5 million.
The Tewksbury, Mass., video editing specialist wrote down $22.6 million in the quarter for impairment on intangibles, stock compensation and restructuring. Consumer video accounted for $9.6 million. Avid warned that the total for impairment could yet be adjusted for 4Q, changing the final results. Excluding the charge, the company posted a $9.3 million loss for the quarter.
The final accounting could likewise affect Avid’s full-year results, which now stand at a net loss of $129.8 million on revenues of $844.9 million for 2008, compared to a loss of nearly $8 million on revenues of nearly $930 million in ’07. The full-year impairment and restructuring, et al charge for the year is thus far nearly $104.6 million.
Cash balance at the end of the year was $147.7 million, up by $25.3 million since the end of 3Q, generated mostly from $28.8 million in proceeds from divestitures, including the sale of Canadian animator Softimage. Nearly 7 percent of full-year revenues were attributed to divested product lines and tax adjustments.
Avid’s share price took a dip on the news of its losses, closing Thursday at $10.75, and hovering at around $10 on Friday, a slide of around 9 percent. The overall markets dropped about 1 percentage point in the same period.
