Westaim announces 2008 first quart...( CALGARY May 12 / The Westaim Corp...),Health

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 http://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. (NASDAQ: NCST; TSX: NCS). Westaim's common shares are listed and on The Toronto S
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