1 Exhibit 99.1
January 20, 2004 Steven F. Nicola
Chief Financial Officer
Secretary & Treasurer
412-442-8262
MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES
FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS AND DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
PITTSBURGH, PA, JANUARY 20, 2004 - Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ
NNM: MATW) today announced higher earnings for the first fiscal quarter ended
December 31, 2003. Net income for the quarter was $11,383,000 versus
$9,273,000 for the same quarter last year. Earnings per share for the first
quarter of fiscal 2004 were $0.35 compared to $0.29 a year ago, an increase
of 20.7 percent.
Sales in the quarter increased 7.2 percent to $116,902,000 versus
$109,073,000 in the first quarter a year ago. For the three months ended
December 31, 2003, operating income totaled $19,853,000, up 17.9 percent over
the first quarter of fiscal 2003.
In discussing the results for the quarter, David M. Kelly, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, stated:
"The higher level of sales and operating profit, and the 20.7 percent
increase in earnings per share, were in line with our expectations for the
first quarter of fiscal 2004. All segments of the Company's business
reported higher sales compared to the same quarter a year ago. The growth in
operating income reflected the increase in sales and the continued benefits
from our recent cost structure improvements and manufacturing efficiency
initiatives."
2
Matthews International Corporation 2 of 3 January 20, 2004
Mr. Kelly also reported that the Company's results were favorably impacted by
increases in the values of foreign currencies (particularly the Euro)
compared to the U.S. dollar.
Mr. Kelly further said, "Our cash flow continues to be solid. We reduced our
bank debt by another $10 million prior to December 31, 2003. Our revolving
credit facility, which had an outstanding balance of $124.5 million on
December 3, 2001, has been reduced by $90 million over the past 25 months.
In addition, the Company repurchased approximately 219,000 shares of its
common stock during the quarter."
The Board of Directors of Matthews International Corporation also declared at
its regularly scheduled meeting today a dividend of $0.04 per share on the
Company's common stock for the quarter ended December 31, 2003. The dividend
is payable February 13, 2004 to stockholders of record January 30, 2004.
Matthews International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, is a designer, manufacturer and marketer principally of
memorialization products, caskets and cremation equipment 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,
components and packaging containers.
3
Matthews International Corporation 3 of 3 January 20, 2004
MATTHEWS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(Unaudited)
(In Thousands, except Share Data)
Three Months Ended
----------------------
12/31/03 12/31/02
-------- --------
Sales $116,902 $109,073
Operating Profit 19,853 16,834
Income before taxes 18,600 15,153
Income Taxes 7,217 5,880
Net Income $11,383 $9,273
Earnings per Share - Diluted $0.35 $0.29
Weighted Average Shares - Diluted 32,602,155 32,027,123
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 changes in economic conditions,
competitive environment, death rate, and technological factors beyond the
Company's control.