SmarTire Systems Inc. recorded a net loss of $19.6 million on revenue of $3.6 million for its 2007 fiscal year ended July 31, 2007. That compares to a net loss of $28.8 million on revenue of $3.4 million for fiscal 2006.
The company said the 32% decrease in the net loss was mainly due to a
decrease in non-cash interest charges of $12 million in fiscal year 2007 from $23.2 million in fiscal 2006.
Cash used to fund operating and investing activities in fiscal 2007 decreased to $5.1 million from $8.1 million in fiscal 2006. "The decrease in cash used was primarily due to the closure of our European office, the reduction in the number of our employees by approximately 45% and the issuance of shares to settle debt," according to Smartire.
The company says it anticipates that cash required for operating and investing activities in fiscal 2008 will decrease by another 50% to 60%.
Operating expenses for the year increased to $7.7 million from $7.1 million in fiscal year 2006.
"Our objective is to make this company profitable, and we took a step in the right direction by reducing our burn rate by $3 million for the year," says David Warkentin, CEO and president. "We continue to reduce our burn rate, as evidenced by our cash used during our fourth quarter, when we used cash of $672,918, a decrease of $227,122 from $900,040 during our third quarter.
"While I am extremely pleased that we have been able to reduce costs, I am still disappointed that revenues have not grown faster. Unfortunately, although we have not lost any business to our competitors, our customers' production implementation schedules have been slower than anticipated and are not an issue we can control."
Over the course of its fiscal year, Smartire signed several key contracts with the following companies: John Deere brand tractor manufacturer Deere & Co.; International Truck; Setra, a division of Daimler Chrysler; and GE Sensing.
SmarTire's detailed operating results are available in its Form 10-KSB, filed with the Security and Exchange Commission, at www.sec.gov.
