Altair trims loss, boosts revenues

Altair Nanotechnologies didn't close a couple of deals it expected to nail down during the first quarter, but the Reno-based company said last week it increased its revenues from government research grants.

The publicly held company lost $6.1 million on revenues of $1.2 million in the first quarter. This compares with a loss of $6.4 million on revenues of $902,000 in the comparable quarter a year ago.

Research grants with the U.S. Navy and Defense Department generated $823,000 in Altair's first quarter compared with $12,000 a year earlier.

But Terry Copeland, Altair's president and chief executive officer, said the company's executives were disappointed that a couple of orders didn't come to reality during the first quarter.

"This marketplace is just taking a long time," he said.

Altair is pursuing customers for its battery technology both in the utility sector and among manufacturers of electric vehicles. Copeland said Altair closed a $1 million sale in the transit sector after the end of the first quarter, and the company is making headway on an international sale of 10-megawatt energy storage system.

The company, which had $12.3 million in cash on its books at the end of the first quarter, is burning cash at a rate of about $1.9 million a month. It's spending some of that cash to build inventories for handle the orders it expects to receive.