Palm Burns Through Almost $300 Million In One Year

Palm continues its financial struggle and posted yet another hefty quarterly loss for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2008, ended May 30. The company said it lost $43.4 million on $296.2 million of revenue.

While the company sold a record 968,000 smartphones during the quarter and 3.2 million over the year - mostly due to the success of its Centro device - the company is burning through its cash at an astonishing rate. Its available cash and short term investments dropped from $546.7 million one year ago to $258.8 million by the end of its FY2008. The company’s assets dropped by almost $400 million from $1.55 billion to $1.18 billion in the same time frame.

"We continue to invest in Palm’s future and remain focused on building long-term value," said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer of Palm, in a statement. "Centro is a tremendous hit, we are gaining market share, and we believe with this momentum, and the launch of new Windows Mobile products, we will turn the corner and return to revenue and margin growth."