Montreal: Cinar Corp. delivered 119 half-hours in the first six months of fiscal 2000, bringing its program library total to 150 titles and 1,967 half-hours.

The library update is part of a long-anticipated release of unaudited financial information, reported to be the main stumbling block to the eventual Merrill Lynch-mediated sale of the company’s considerable assets.

Cinar president and ceo Barrie Usher says the company’s bank credit (us$12 million outstanding) has been extended to Oct. 15. Usher says the company "continues to have a strong balance sheet" with assets (as of May 31, 2000) of $436.6 million, liabilities of $95.7 million and shareholders’ equity of $341 million.

Financial highlights include:

* A restatement of net earnings for fiscal ’98 to $15.7 million from $21.8 million, and for fiscal ’97 to $6.6 million from $12.9 million.

* A net loss of $160.4 million resulting from a "non-recurring charge" of $156.1 million on total revenues of $172.6 million for the fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 1999. The exceptional charges refer to "at least $63 million" as the unpaid/unrecovered and "unauthorized" investment in Globe-X Management; $26.6 million in claims, now in front of the courts, made against former Cinar officers; a $45.7-million write-down of the net realizable assets of Edusoft, a Tel Aviv-based educational multimedia company; and a non-cash charge of $40.7 million against the net value of the company’s film assets, its program library.

* A net loss of $42.4 million based on revenues of $62.8 million ($25.3 million from the entertainment division, $37.5 million from education) for the six months ending May 31, 2000. Unusual expense items in the period include a $30.9-million write-down of Cinar’s investment in Lightspan, a u.s. curriculum-based software company; $7.4 million in interest and penalties related to the settlement with federal and provincial tax authorities; and $8.4 million in professional fees. *

-www.cinar.com