Schmitt Industries Announces First Quarter Of Fiscal 2011 Operating Results; Revenues Increase Significantly

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Schmitt Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:SMIT) today announced its operating results for the first quarter of Fiscal year 2011. Sales for the three months ended August 31, 2010 increased 96.6% to $2,404,467 compared to $1,223,234 for the same period last year. Net loss for the first quarter ended August 31, 2010 was $112,625, or $.04 per fully diluted share, compared to net loss of $574,997, or $.20 per fully diluted share, for the same period last year.

Sales in the SBS Balancer segment increased $645,295, or 73.2%, to $1,527,417 in the first quarter of Fiscal 2011 compared to $882,122 in the first quarter of Fiscal 2010. Sales in the SMS Measurement segment also increased $535,938, or 157.1%, to $877,050 for the three months ended August 31, 2010 compared to $341,112 for the same period last year. Sales of the Company's balancer and laser-based measurement products increased from prior periods due to an increase in demand which resulted in higher volumes of shipments in the quarter.

Gross margins for the first quarter of Fiscal 2011 increased to 45.7% for the three months ended August 31, 2010 as compared to 44.9% for the same period in the prior year primarily due to a shift of the product sales towards higher margin products and higher production volumes resulting in improved absorption of labor and overhead. Operating expenses increased $82,397, or 7.3%, to $1,216,148 during the three months ended August 31, 2010 as compared to $1,133,751 for the same period in the prior year. This increase was primarily due to higher commissions related to the increase in sales. 

"We are pleased with the significant increase in sales across both business segments and the narrowing of our net loss. This is also the second consecutive quarter in which we have experienced sales increases in both our SBS Balancer and SMS Measurement segments on a quarter over quarter as well as a sequential basis, " commented Wayne A. Case, CEO of Schmitt Industries. "While we are cautiously optimistic that market conditions will continue to improve in the U.S. auto industry and in the global manufacturing and industrial markets generally, we are continuing to closely monitor both our order rates and our expense structure," Case continued.