Mutimedia accelerator company S3 Inc reported a dismal third quarter, with revenues down 60.5% at $47.3m and a net loss of $35.4m, or $0.69 per share – against net income of $4.4m in the year-ago period. There were one-time charges in the quarter, for restructuring and asset and equipment write-offs, which amounted to $18.0m. Without them, the Santa Clara, California-based company would have seen a loss of $0.34 per share – still far worse than the $0.21 loss that analysts surveyed by First Call were expecting. The company says it has continued to be hit hard by the Asian economic woes and that, even as it shipped its Savage3D product, the ramp was offset by lower-than expected demand for its older 2D and 3D products. S3 insists, however that it has a strong balance sheet – with $128.7m in cash and short term investments – and will continue to invest in new desktop and mobile products. Nine-month net loss was $42.9m on revenue down 45.3% at $183.1m, compared to net income of $17.0m last year. Nine-month results also include a $8.0m acquisition charge and a pre-tax gain of $26.6m from the sale of a manufacturing joint venture.
