By Anna Parker, 13 June 2001 13:15
NEWS Troubled US internet holding company CMGI has cut its losses to $1bn per quarter and announced it still expects to have more than $650m in cash at the end of the fiscal year on 31 July. The one time darling of the US markets yesterday revealed losses of $963m for its third quarter - down from the $2.5bn quarterly loss it recorded in January. The losses included massive write-downs of the value of its investments - $609m for the third quarter and $2bn for the second. The third quarter losses were mainly due to three companies that CMGI bought last year - net services company Tallan, online advertiser AdForce and media-streamer Activate. The company is still looking for a buyer for Activate and is winding the other two down. The company, which, in better days, sat on a $2bn cash mountain and named AltaVista among its assets, has shown steady signs of recovery. Its turnover is up to $301m compared to $233m for the comparable quarter last year and 'recurring operating loss' is down to $131.7m from the $191.5m of the previous quarter. Meanwhile, European counterpart NewMedia Spark has posted losses of £41m and has seen its net asset value per share fall from 77p to 42p since last year. NewMedia has boosted the number of companies in its portfolio from 32 to 56 this year. The European incubator closed the year with cash in hand of £76.6m and shareholders' funds of £207.7m. Its main investments are in the UK and Sweden, but it has rationalised its Swedish office and opened operations in Madrid and Berlin.
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