IPEC Holdings Inc. Reports Second-Quarter Revenue Growth of 37%
with Net Income Increasing 81% During the Quarter, the Company
Consummated Two Separate Sale Leaseback Transactions and Increased
Its Cash Plus Excess Borrowing Availability to $3.7 Million NEW
CASTLE, Pa., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IPEC Holdings Inc.
("IPEC") (OTC:IPEC) (BULLETIN BOARD: IPEC) today announced its
results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2004. Net income
available to common shares for the second quarter of 2004 was $0.06
per share. 2004 SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS: -- Net income
available to common shares for the second quarter of 2004 increased
81% to $590,287 from $326,235 in the second quarter of 2003. --
Operating Income for the 2004 second quarter increased 69% to
$1,119,845 from $663,762 for the 2003 second quarter. -- Revenues
increased to $6.3 million for the quarter, a 37% increase in
relationship to the comparable quarter in 2003. During the second
quarter of 2004, the Company completed the sale of its two primary
production facilities under a sale leaseback arrangement. The sale
resulted in $3.3 million of available cash flow for the Company
which was used to fund a 35,000-square-foot warehouse expansion and
initially pay down the Company's demand line of credit to the
extent of $0.9 million and $2.4 million, respectively. Shawn C.
Fabry, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, remarks, "With the
consummation of this transaction, we believe that the Company has
secured the liquidity to withstand unexpected short-term volatility
in our markets while providing the Company with the financial
resources to market our superior service, fabrication and cost
structure as vehicles to continue increasing our market share."
Commenting on IPEC's financial performance during the recent
quarter, Joseph Giordano, Jr., Chief Executive Officer, stated,
"The Company's second quarter results reflect a combination of our
continued penetration into the US Closure markets and cost savings
realized through volume efficiencies and other Company-directed
initiatives." In addition, Mr. Giordano notes, "Given our
historical performance of consistent revenue growth, our assessment
of the markets in which we compete and other relevant factors, we
believe that our stock, currently trading at a 12:1 price to 2004
estimated earnings ratio, remains undervalued in the marketplace."
Looking forward to the remainder of 2004, the Company expects its
2004 fiscal earnings per share to be in the range of $0.12 to $0.14
per common share, barring the occurrence of any unforeseen or
unusual conditions affecting the industry. ABOUT IPEC HOLDINGS
INC.: IPEC Holdings Inc. manufactures and sells tamper-evident
plastic closures. These closures are predominantly used in the
bottling of non-carbonated beverages including bottled water, milk,
fruit and sports drinks. The Company also designs and manufactures
equipment for the bottling industry. IPEC's customer base primarily
consists of dairy and bottled water manufacturers both domestically
and internationally. The Company's two principal manufacturing
facilities are located in the United States of America in
Pennsylvania and Alabama. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn
C. Fabry Chief Financial Officer 185 Northgate Circle New Castle,
PA 16105 Website: http://www.ipec.biz/ Phone: (724) 658-3004 Fax:
(724) 658-3054 FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Forward-Looking
Statements. This news release contains forward-looking statements
that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections
about IPEC's business, management's beliefs and assumptions made by
management. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and
assumptions ("Future Factors") which are difficult to predict.
Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from
what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.
IPEC HOLDINGS INC. UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS Q2 04 Q2 03 YTD 04
YTD 03 Sales $6,319,511 $4,613,332 $10,726,202 $7,793,905 Operating
expenses: Cost of goods sold 4,377,949 3,213,350 7,704,868
5,689,414 Selling 348,676 382,347 581,516 705,690 General and
administrative 473,041 353,873 943,298 771,201 Operating expenses
5,199,666 3,949,570 9,229,682 7,166,305 Operating income 1,119,845
663,762 1,496,520 627,600 Non-operating expense (income): Interest
expense 116,834 149,660 242,486 300,846 Other expense (income)
18,967 (2,383) 17,141 (3,680) Non-operating expenses 135,801
147,277 259,627 297,166 Income before taxes 984,044 516,485
1,236,893 330,434 Income taxes (benefit) 393,757 190,250 494,757
128,500 Net income $590,287 $326,235 $742,136 $201,934 Average
Shares of Common Stock - Basic 9,972,912 9,972,912 9,972,912
9,972,912 Average Shares of Common Stock - Diluted 10,098,205
10,407,492 10,156,354 10,425,158 Basic Income Per Share $0.06 $0.03
$0.07 $ 0.02 Diluted Income Per Share $0.06 $0.03 $0.07 $ 0.02 Net
Income Plus: Interest Expense 116,834 149,660 242,486 300,846
Income Taxes 393,757 190,250 494,757 128,500 Depreciation expense
428,819 515,500 875,886 838,913 EBITDA (a) (b) $1,529,697
$1,181,645 $ 2,355,265 $1,470,193 EBITDA as a % of Sales (a) (b)
24% 26% 22% 19% (a) EBITDA represents, for any relevant period,
income (loss) before income taxes, depreciation of property, plant
and equipment, interest expense (including amortization of debt
issuance costs) and amortization of intangible assets. (b) EBITDA
is not intended to represent and should not be considered more
meaningful than, or an alternative to, net income (loss), cash flow
or other measures of performance in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. EBITDA data is included because the
Company understands that such information is used by certain
investors and Company analysts. This release was issued through
eReleases(TM). For more information, visit
http://www.ereleases.com/. DATASOURCE: IPEC Holdings Inc. CONTACT:
Shawn C. Fabry, Chief Financial Officer, IPEC Holdings,
+1-724-658-3004, Fax: +1-724-658-3054 Web site:
http://www.ipec.biz/
Copyright