COPPELL, Texas--Jan. 14, 2002-- Impreso, Inc. (Nasdaq SmallCap Market: ZCOM), which through its subsidiaries is involved in (1) the manufacture and distribution of paper and film hard copy imaging products for commercial and home office applications and (2) the development of eCommerce initiatives, today announced higher sales and earnings for the first quarter of FY 2002.
Net sales for the first quarter of FY2002 rose 19.5% to $25.4 million, compared with net sales of $21.3 million in the previous year. Net income increased to $765,929, or $0.15 per share, in the most recent quarter, compared with $127,164, or $0.02 per share, in the first quarter of FY 2001.
``Increased transportation costs caused our gross profit margin to decline slightly, as a percentage of sales, during the first quarter as compared to the corresponding period of the prior year,'' commented Marshall Sorokwasz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Impreso, Inc. ``We are attempting to improve future gross profit margins by implementing a program to decrease TST's inventory, which should reduce inventory carrying costs.''
Impreso, Inc. also recorded as other income in the first quarter, an approximate $1 million award from a class action lawsuit involving international and domestic manufacturers' attempt to fix jumbo roll thermal facsimile paper prices in the United States. After years of litigation against large paper manufacturers in the United States and Japan, the plaintiff class settled with the defendants for over $16 million. Impreso did not participate in the ongoing litigation, but was awarded over $1 million as its share of the settlement by the courts.
``The impact of 9-11-01 on the economy has also effected the Company,'' stated Marshall Sorokwasz, ``Net sales in TST's first quarter, as compared to the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2001, declined. The exact impact on the results of operations is not ascertainable due to the acquisition of Sky in April 2001. We believe that the slower economy will continue to effect the second quarter FY2002 results of operations.''
HotSheet.com announces new features such as integration of personal links and page customization. The personal link integration allows users to create their own database of links that can be incorporated into the Hotsheet.com standard directory page. New customization features include personalizing the user's page with thousands of color combinations. ``Traffic on Hotsheet.com has steadily increased to over 4 million page views per month,'' commented Marshall Sorokwasz, ``We believe these new features add to the utility and desirability of Hotsheet.com as a start page for Internet users and will contribute to usage and income as the Internet market starts to recover.''
About Impreso, Inc.
Impreso, Inc. is a holding company for TST/Impreso, Inc. and HotSheet.com, Inc. TST/Impreso, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of hard copy imaging products for commercial and home use in domestic and international markets. HotSheet.com, Inc. primarily owns HotSheet.com, a single-page, online Internet directory with categorized links to premier web destinations. The Company's website domains are www.hotsheet.com, www.impreso.com, and www.tstimpreso.com.
Impreso, Inc. is headquartered in Coppell, Texas, and its common stock trades on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market under the symbol ``ZCOM''.
This press release may include statements that constitute ``forward-looking'' statements, usually containing the words ``believe,'' ``estimate,'' ``project,'' ``expect'' or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace, competitive factors, new products and technological changes, paper prices and raw material costs, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.
IMPRESO, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
November 30
2001 2000
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Net Sales $ 25,401,360 $ 21,250,206
Cost of Sales 22,802,742 18,954,129
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Gross Profit 2,598,618 2,296,077
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Other Costs and Expenses:
Selling, General and Admin.
Expenses 2,098,774 1,790,191
Interest Expense 452,494 346,500
Other Income, Net (1,153,427) (46,981)
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Total Other Costs and Expenses 1,397,841 2,089,710
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Income Before Income Tax Expense 1,200,777 206,367
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Income Tax Expense:
Current 432,760 70,803
Deferred 2,088 8,400
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Net Income $ 765,929 $ 127,164
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Net Income Per Share $ 0.15 $ 0.02
(basic and diluted) ========== ==========
Weighted Avg. Shares Outstanding:
(basic and diluted) 5,278,780 5,289,494
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Impreso, Inc., Coppell
Marshall Sorokwasz, 972/462-0100 (ext. 103)
or
Tammy Yahiel, 972/462-0100 (ext. 117)
yahiel@tstimpreso.com