Lorimar Posts $56.3-Million Quarterly Loss

Lorimar Telepictures on Friday reported a loss of $56.3 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, marking the fifth-consecutive quarter of losses for the entertainment company. With the latest results, the cumulative loss mounted to $150 million for the 15-month period.

The Culver City company attributed most of its second-quarter loss to $45 million in writedowns on five movies initiated before Bernie Brillstein, producer and manager, was recruited to head the motion picture operation early this year.

The $45-million writedown eclipsed the total film writeoffs in the previous four fiscal years, which mounted to $28.9 million.

As of Sept. 30, Lorimar’s tangible net worth had declined to slightly less than $284 million, according to Michael Meltzer, Lorimar’s senior vice president and group controller, who noted that Lorimar’s agreement with lenders required it to maintain a minimum tangible net worth of $321 million on that date.

But the banks “waived compliance with all of the covenants until the end of this calendar year,” Meltzer said. The controller added that the company is currently renegotiating its credit agreement and may--among other things--increase its borrowing capacity.

At the end of the second quarter, the company had about $66 million available for borrowing from its banks. Susan E. Binford, a communications consultant to the company, said Lorimar’s bank debt was between “$160 million and $165 million” as of that date.