Skillsoft, the educational software company, lost $269 million (€228 million) in the fourth quarter. The loses reflected an impairment charge of $250 million and and other non-recurring items.

There was also a charge of $5.1 million in connection with the restatement of the accounts of Irish-based Smartforce, which merged with Skillsoft last September.

Excluding the charges, the net loss in the fourth quarter was $7.2 million. According to the company, "the net loss includes a goodwill impairment charge of $250.1 million or $2.51 per basic and diluted share, a restructuring charge of $7.6 million or $0.08 million per basic diluted share, and costs in connection with the pending restatement of the historical SmartForce financial statements of $5.1 million or $0.05 per basic and diluted share".

"Although 2003 was a challenging year, we will all look back and agree that this was an important period for Skillsoft," said Mr Chuck Moran, the president and chief executive officer.

He said the company had secured its position as "a leading content-focused e-learning solutions provider" and that the focus going forward would be to build on this foundation.

The company reported revenues of $101.5 million for the year to the end of January 2003, compared with $44.3 million for the previous year. The net loss for the full year was $283 million compared to $9.6 million previously. Revenues for the current year are expected to be between $185 million and $190 million and the company anticipates further losses.

The company is currently the subject of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as being the subject of six class actions related to the mis-statement of financial information.