Image Entertainment’s 3rd-Quarter Losses Mount

Image Entertainment, the largest independent licensee and distributor of laserdisc programming in North America, posted a nearly 300% increase in net losses for the second quarter, which ended Sept. 30, the company reported.

Net sales for the quarter fell to $13.8 million, from $16.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The company also sells programming in the DVD format.

The net loss for the latest quarter was $687,000, or 5 cents per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of $184,000, or 1 cent per basic and diluted share, for the 1997 quarter.

Net sales of DVD programming increased 120%, to $6.6 million, from $3 million for the 1997 quarter.

DVD programming grew from 18% of the company’s total net sales from a year ago to 48% in the most recent quarter.

Because the DVD format competes directly with laserdiscs, the strength in DVD sales eats way at the laserdisc business.