American Biltrite Reports First Quarter Results

American Biltrite Inc. (NYSE Amex: ABL) reported its results for the first quarter of 2010 today. Net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2010 were $80.7 million, compared with $70.1 million in the first quarter of 2009. The net loss attributable to American Biltrite for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $726 thousand or $0.21 per share (basic and diluted) compared with a net loss attributable to American Biltrite of $5.5 million or $1.60 per share (basic and diluted) in the first quarter of 2009.

American Biltrite’s consolidated results include the results of its 55% owned subsidiary Congoleum Corporation, which is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization proceedings. American Biltrite anticipates its ownership interest in Congoleum will be eliminated upon the conclusion of such proceedings. Accordingly, American Biltrite believes its financial results excluding Congoleum to be a more meaningful presentation to investors. Excluding the results of Congoleum, American Biltrite’s net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2010 were $46.6 million, up 16.7% from $40.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009, and its net loss attributable to American Biltrite for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $469 thousand compared with a net loss attributable to American Biltrite of $3.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Congoleum comprises the flooring products segment in American Biltrite’s reported results.

Roger S. Marcus, Chairman of the Board, commented “We saw some modestly encouraging signs of improvement in several of our markets during the first quarter as evidenced by the overall sales growth over year ago levels. The increase in sales combined with the cost reductions we initiated in 2009 resulted in significantly better results for the quarter, with all operations showing improvement over this period last year.”

Warning regarding forward-looking statements and certain risks

The above news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are based on American Biltrite’s expectations, and American Biltrite’s understanding of Congoleum’s expectations, as of the date of this release, of future events. American Biltrite undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward looking statements, except as may be required by the federal securities laws. Although American Biltrite believes that these expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and experience, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. Any or all of these expectations may turn out to be incorrect and any forward-looking statements made in this release speak only as of the date of this release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ significantly as a result of various factors. For example, the above news release indicates that American Biltrite saw modestly encouraging signs of improvement in several of its markets during the first quarter of 2010, that American Biltrite’s sales grew during that period, and that American Biltrite’s cost reductions initiated in 2009 combined with its increased sales resulted in significantly better net results for the quarter. These statements may imply that American Biltrite’s markets, sales and results will continue to improve and that its cost reductions will be sustainable. However, American Biltrite continues to operate under difficult and unpredictable business and industry conditions and there can be no assurance that its markets, sales and results will continue to improve or that they will not decline. Further American Biltrite may be unable to sustain its recent cost reductions and its expenses may increase in the future, including its expenses for energy and raw materials that are impacted by commodity related costs, which remain volatile and have generally been increasing.