EMachines Reports $1.84-Million Loss

EMachines Inc., the upstart maker of personal computers costing less than $500, had an operating loss of $1.84 million on sales of $814.3 million last year, according to regulatory documents. The Irvine company, which plans to go public this quarter, expects losses from operations to continue for the next several quarters as it digests its acquisition of Pasadena-based Free-PC, which was completed earlier this month, the company reported in documents filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Including the operations of Free-PC, EMachines reported a 1999 loss of $105.5 million, including amortization charges. Charges from amortization of goodwill for the acquisition are expected to total $146 million over two years. EMachines, which started selling its cheap machines in November 1998, is seeking to raise about $200 million by selling shares to the public. The company is a joint venture of South Korea’s TriGem Computer Inc. and Korea Data Systems.