Matthews International Announces Earnings For The Fourth Quarter And Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2010

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 11, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matthews International Corporation (Nasdaq:MATW) today announced earnings for the quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2010. Net income for the Company's fiscal 2010 fourth quarter was $19,719,000, or $0.67 per share, compared to $15,633,000, or $0.52 per share, for the fourth fiscal quarter a year ago. The fiscal 2010 fourth quarter included a favorable adjustment of $0.01 per share primarily related to the closure of certain prior income tax periods. The fiscal 2009 fourth quarter results included net unusual charges of $0.07 per share, which primarily related to operational and systems improvements in several of the Company's business segments.

Consolidated sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 were $214,661,000, compared to $200,213,000 in the same quarter a year ago, representing an increase of 7.2%. All of the Company's segments, except for Graphics Imaging, reported higher sales for the current quarter. The increase in consolidated sales for the current quarter was principally attributable to higher unit volumes in several segments and the impact of recent acquisitions. Operating profit for the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter was $32,773,000, compared to $27,683,000 for the fourth quarter last year.   The increase in operating profit from a year ago primarily reflected the benefit of higher sales and the favorable impact of the Company's fiscal 2009 cost structure initiatives. Operating profit for the current period included an increase in pension costs of $1,300,000 compared to a year ago. In addition, changes in foreign currency rates unfavorably affected consolidated operating results for the current quarter by approximately $500,000, compared to the same period last year. Operating profit for the fiscal 2009 fourth quarter included approximately $3,700,000 (pre-tax) of the unusual charges noted above.

Net income for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010 was $69,057,000, or $2.31 per share, compared to $57,732,000, or $1.90 per share, last year. Fiscal 2010 included favorable income tax adjustments of $0.03 primarily related to the closure of certain prior income tax periods. Fiscal 2009 earnings were negatively affected by unusual items of $0.31 per share, which consisted of unusual charges of $0.35 per share offset partially by favorable income tax adjustments of $0.04 per share. Last year's unusual charges primarily represented costs related to the consolidation of certain production operations within the Company's Bronze segment, cost structure initiatives in certain of the Company's other businesses and asset adjustments.