Iwerks stanches red ink

$1.8 mil deficit over 1st three quarters

By CARL DIORIO

Iwerks Entertainment posted $355,000 in fiscal third-quarter red ink -- narrowed from a $14 million loss in the same period of the previous year -- as the simulation-ride company cut operating costs by two-thirds and stabilized revenue.

Over its first three fiscal quarters, Iwerks narrowed red ink to $1.8 million from a loss of $17.5 million in the year-earlier period.

Revenue for the three-month period ended March 31 totaled $5.9 million, flat with the same period a year ago. The Burbank-based company saw a 22% drop in nine-month revenue to $17.6 million due to slippage in the previous two fiscal quarters.

Iwerks, which cut its total operating costs to $6.3 million in the latest quarter from $19.9 million a year earlier, is set for take over by location-based entertainment company SimEx. The parties, which announced a non-binding letter of intent on the takeover March 5, haven't indicated a target closing date for the transaction.