Zenn Motor Co. narrows Q4 loss to $753K; puts full-year loss at $4.4M

TORONTO - Zenn Motor Co. Inc. (TSXV:ZNN) cited continuing cost-cutting Friday for a narrowing of the battery technology company's fourth- quarter loss in what it said was a "difficult and challenging year."

Toronto-based Zenn Motor said it lost $752,780 or two cents per share from continuing operations in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a net loss of $980,423 or three cents per share in the same year-earlier period.

The company did not report revenue figures for either period.

For the full year, Zeen said it lost $4.4 million or 12 cents per share, compared with $4.1 million or 11 cents in the prior year.

The former producer of low-speed all electric vehicles, which has since switched its focus to power storage solutions for the automotive industry, said it expect to continue cost cutting in its 2012 fiscal year.

At Sept. 30, 2011, the company had working capital of $1,095,105 and cash, including cash and short-term investments, totalling $1,680,165, compared with working capital of $4,580,376 and cash of $5,074,652, respectively, at Sept. 30, 2010.

In a statement accompanying the results, board chairman and interim CEO James Kofman conceded it had been "a difficult and challenging year for Zenn" as the company moved to significantly reduced its cash burn rate by cutting staff and refocusing the business.

Zenn suspended its independent development of technologies that were intended to be complimentary to those being developed by EEStor, an Austin, Texas,-based company with which it has a technology agreement.

"Unfortunately, while shareholders, employees and the company's directors were all hoping that there would be a public announcement from EEStor in 2011 about technological progress, no such announcement was made," he said.

EEStor is working to develop and manufacture a high energy density ceramic ultra capacitor that would act as a very high capacity battery capable of storing more than 10 times the energy of lead-acid batteries on a volume basis.