Large-format film company Imax Corp. said Friday it has found $2.5 million US in accounting errors and plans to restate some of its financial reports for 2001 through 2006.

The company said that as a result of the discovery it will miss Friday's deadline to file its 2006 annual report with securities administrators in the United States. The company said it will file the report by the end of March.

An IMAX movie theater in Vienna. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Imax, which has joint headquarters in New York City and Toronto, said the accounting errors relate to costs that were capitalized instead of being expensed when they occurred.

"We recognized that the delay in filing the [annual report] and the underlying causes are unacceptable, and we are committed to rebuilding our financial staff," co-CEOs and co-chairmen Richard Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler said in a statement.

They said the company's chief financial officer resigned last August and they are in the process of hiring a permanent replacement.

Imax also told investors it installed seven theatre systems in the fourth quarter of 2006 and signed deals for nine more theatres during the quarter.

"The timing of these accounting issues is particularly unfortunate because it masks significant business development which [has] affected our business in a very positive way," Gelfond and Wechsler said.

Shares of Imax gained one cent to close at $5.88 on the TSX.