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LEICESTER, NY, August 10, 2000 -- CPAC,
Inc. (Nasdaq: CPAK) held its nineteenth annual shareholders' meeting on August 9th
in Mt. Morris, NY wherein the Company detailed the success of its 1999
initiatives to reduce costs and increase earnings.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas N. Hendrickson, told those in
attendance, "Fiscal 2000’s performance and our just announced first
quarter fiscal 2001 results demonstrate excellent progress in our initiatives
undertaken in the last year to make CPAC a more profitable and a more
competitive company. Most notably, earnings per share in the first quarter of
fiscal 2001 increased 33% to $0.24 per diluted share."
Mr. Hendrickson also commented on CPAC’s progress in its main area of focus
for income improvement in the last year, Cleaning Technologies Group (CTG), CPAC’s
commercial/janitorial cleaning division, part of its Fuller Brands segment.
"Over the last year, we successfully completed a $2.5 million cost
reduction program with significant savings coming from CTG. Our progress at
addressing the issues at CTG was made clear with a major improvement in CTG’s
contribution to CPAC’s first quarter results."
Mr. Hendrickson recapped the Company’s progress and plans in its various
business units. "In Imaging, we are on target with first quarter sales up
almost 9% over last year and CPAC Asia now in full operation. In the Fuller
Brands segment, we are pursuing an aggressive Internet partnership strategy to
drive new growth. We now have 15 Fuller Brands’ sites containing links from
other high traffic sites. We are also close to launching an exciting new
Internet strategy through www.fullerdirect.com, which is a web based,
affiliate fundraising program for recognized national charities. Toward the end
of fiscal 2000, Fuller Brands’ Stanley Home Products was restructured as a
separate business unit, and we look to resume its top-line growth through a
strategy focused on new products and the Internet."
Mr. Hendrickson also commented on CPAC’s stock repurchase programs.
"In the last three years, we have successfully completed five 5% repurchase
authorizations with internally generated cash, and in June announced our sixth
5% repurchase program. Based on several key valuation measures, we continue to
believe that repurchase of shares at price levels near book value is an
effective use of capital that directly enhances CPAC’s earnings per
share."
Mr. Hendrickson concluded his remarks, "In the last year, we have taken
significant steps to reduce overhead and also added strong leadership at the
operations level. These actions have contributed to a significant increase in
CPAC’s bottom-line profitability and we are now able to shift our primary
focus to producing a higher level of top-line growth going forward."
The Company also announced that the following proposals were approved by
shareholders with all proposals receiving an affirmative vote of at least 98% of
all shares voted at the annual meeting:
Election of six directors to serve until the next annual meeting;
Ratification of the appointment by The Board of Directors of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent auditors of the Company for its fiscal
year ending March 31, 2001; and
An option to a new director of the Company, Dr. Jerold L. Zimmerman, to
purchase 15,000 shares of the Company's $.01 par value common stock.
An audio recording of CPAC’s August 10 conference call discussing fiscal
2001 first quarter results is available until the Company’s next conference
call by dialing 1-800-625-5288, and entering
the passcode 768191 on your telephone. The call is also archived on the Vcall
web site for 90 days , and can be accessed at anytime at no cost at: (http://www.vcall.com/NASApp/VCall/EventPage?ID=27952
)
Users must have RealPlayer’s audio software to access this presentation
through Vcall.
CPAC, Inc. is an international manufacturer and marketer of industrial and
household cleaning products and related accessories, personal care products, and
prepackaged chemical formulations, supplies, and equipment systems to the
imaging industry. The Company operates in two business segments: Cleaning and
Personal Care (Fuller Brands) and Imaging. The Fuller Brands segment includes
The Fuller Brush Company (commercial and consumer), Stanley Home Products, and
Cleaning Technologies Group. CPAC's Imaging segment serves the global Imaging
market and includes three domestic and four international chemical manufacturing
operations. CPAC, Inc. shares trade on the Nasdaq National Market System under
the ticker symbol "CPAK". More information is at the Company's web
site (http://www.cpac-fuller.com).
Except for the historical matters contained herein, statements in this press
release are forward looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions
of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that
forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties which may affect CPAC’s
business and prospects, including economic, competitive, governmental
technological and other factors discussed in CPAC’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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