by Ed DeRosa

MI Developments Inc., the parent company of bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., lost $54,559,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2008. The company’s core real estate business earned $32,574,000, but Magna’s operations—both continuing and discontinued—lost $86.5-million.

The fourth quarter loss contributed to an annual loss in 2008 of $3,216,000 compared with earnings of $39,509,000 in ‘07. Magna cost MI Developments $134.8-million in 2008, a figure buoyed by MI Developments’ real estate business, which earned $132,647,000 in 2008, up 20.2% from ’07 when the company’s core business earned $110,311,000.

“Despite [Magna Entertainment’s] significant financial challenges, we continue to believe that it has a portfolio of valuable real estate that is attractive from a development and redevelopment perspective,” said MI Developments Chief Executive Dennis Mills. “Our participation in the [Magna Entertainment] Chapter 11 process is intended to preserve the value of our secured loans and ultimately create value for [MI Developments] shareholders.”

MI Developments closed trading on Thursday selling at $5.80 a share, down slightly from $5.99/share at the close of trading on Wednesday. The stock is down about 80% from its 52-week high of $30.26 set in April 2008, though it is up 77.9% compared to its 52-week low of $3.26/share set the first week of March.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of THOROUGHBRED TIMES