1 Exhibit 99.1
November 13, 2003 Edward J. Boyle
CFO, Secretary & Treasurer
412-442-8244
MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES
EARNINGS FOR FISCAL 2003
PITTSBURGH, PA, NOVEMBER 13, 2003 -- Matthews International Corporation
(NASDAQ NMS: MATW) today announced financial results for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2003. The Company reported net income for fiscal 2003
of $44,931,000. Earnings per share for fiscal 2003 were $1.39 per share,
representing an increase of 15.8 percent over $1.20 per share (before
accounting change) for fiscal 2002. Including the impact of a change in
accounting for goodwill impairment, net income for fiscal 2002 was
$35,006,000, or $1.10 per share. Sales for the year ended September 30,
2003 were $458,961,000, representing an increase of $30,875,000, or 7.2%
over sales of $428,086,000 in fiscal 2002. The majority of the year over
year sales increase is due to an additional two months of sales in fiscal
2003 related to the acquisition of York Casket which was completed in
December 2001 and an increase in the value of foreign currency exchange
rates compared to the U.S. dollar.
For the fiscal 2003 fourth quarter, net income was $11,757,000, or $0.36
per share compared to $10,220,000 or $0.32 per share for the fourth quarter
a year ago. Net income for the fiscal 2003 fourth quarter represented an
increase of 15.0 percent over the fiscal 2002 fourth quarter. Net income
for the fiscal 2003 fourth quarter and year were impacted by a pre-tax gain
of $2.6 million on the sale of the Company's Graphics Imaging facility in
Southern California and a pre-tax charge of $3.6 million for goodwill
impairment related to the Graphics Imaging segment's subsidiary, O.N.E.
Color Communications. Sales in the fourth quarter were $118,162,000
compared to $113,832,000 in the same quarter last year.
Commenting on the financial results for fiscal 2003, David M. Kelly,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "I am pleased to report that
each of our five business segments generated higher sales and improved
operating profit compared to the prior year. Fiscal 2003 was a strong
year for Matthews.
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We focused our efforts on improving our operations, developing new products
and reducing debt. The Corporation also benefited from an increase in the
value of the Euro, a reduction in interest expense, an additional two months
being included in our fiscal 2003 financial results for York Casket; and the
acquisition of ReproService Munich which we completed in August 2003."
Mr. Kelly also noted that the quarter ended September 30, 2003 represented
the twenty-seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth for
the Corporation and that the Company's nine-year average increase in earnings
per share since becoming a publicly traded stock in July 1994 is 15.2
percent. "For the twelve months ended September 30, 2003, we were able to
reduce our domestic bank borrowings by another $40 million and the Company
repurchased 252,700 shares of its common stock during fiscal 2003. This is
further evidence of our ability to generate significant positive cash flow
and reinforces our policy of conservative fiscal management."
This year's EPS of $1.39 was also one cent per share higher than the revised
target of $1.38 which was announced by the Corporation during its conference
call on July 23, 2003. The Company currently estimates that its earnings per
share for fiscal 2004 will be approximately $1.58 per share, which is within
its 12% to 15% growth objective.
Matthews International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, is a designer, manufacturer and marketer principally of
memorialization products and caskets for the cemetery and funeral home
industries, and custom made products which are used to identify people,
places, products and events. The Company's products include cast bronze
memorials and other memorialization products; caskets; bronze and aluminum
architectural products; cremators and cremation-related products; mausoleums,
printing plates, pre-press services, and imaging systems for the corrugated
and flexible packaging industries; and marking equipment and consumables for
identifying various consumer and industrial products and containers.
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MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(Unaudited)
(In Thousands, except Share Data)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
-------------------- -----------------------
9/30/03 9/30/02 9/30/03(1) 9/30/02
------- ------- -------- -------
Sales $118,162 $113,832 $458,961 $428,086
Operating Profit 21,263 18,662 80,148 68,187
Income before Taxes and
Accounting Change 19,206 16,833 73,417 62,457
Income Taxes 7,449 6,613 28,486 24,225
Income before Accounting
Change 11,757 10,220 44,931 38,232
Effect of Accounting
Change, Net of Taxes 0 0 0 (3,226)
Net Income $11,757 $10,220 $44,931 $35,006
Earnings per Share before
Accounting Change $0.36 $0.32 $1.39 $1.20
Earnings per Share $0.36 $0.32 $1.39 $1.10
Weighted Average Shares 32,738,289 31,928,703 32,314,696 31,795,990
(1) Fiscal 2003 included a net pre-tax charge of $1,000 from special items
which consisted of a goodwill impairment charge of $3.6 million, net of a pre-
tax gain of $2.6 million on the sale of a facility.
Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are included pursuant
to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks
and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future
periods to be materially different from management's expectations. Although
the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations
will prove correct. Factors that could cause the Company's results to differ
materially from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements
principally include economic, competitive, and technological factors beyond
the Company's control.