Gunther International Announces Third Quarter Financial Results

Feb. 3, 2010 - PRLog -- Total sales for the quarter were $7.61 million, down $4.14 million, or approximately 35%, from the $11.75 million of total sales reported for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.  The decrease is attributable to reductions in sales of Systems, Maintenance and Supplies and Other that were down $3.87 million, $174 thousand and $98 thousand, respectively.  These reductions were partially off-set by a reduction in commission and other sales expense, compared to the corresponding period of the prior year.  The Company reported a net loss for the quarter of $96 thousand, or $0.00 per share, compared to net income of $1.14 million, or $0.06 per share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.

For the nine months ended December 31, 2009, total sales were $23.63 million, compared to total sales of $30.55 million for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2008.  The $6.92 million decrease resulted from reductions in sales of Systems and Supplies and Other of $6.58 million and $544 thousand, respectively.  The reductions were partially off-set by an increase in Maintenance sales of $205 thousand over the corresponding nine-month period of the prior year.  Net income was $359 thousand, or $0.02 per share, for the nine-month period, compared to net income of $1.45 million, or $0.07 per share, for the comparable period last year.

Marc Perkins, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company stated, “Our results continue to be negatively impacted by ongoing, world-wide economic conditions, which have resulted in a reduction in spending on capital equipment such as our high-speed, intelligent mailing systems.  To some degree, our systems order backlog protected us from the immediate impact of the recession, but the pace of new orders has slowed and we have now converted most of our backlog to revenue.”  At December 31, 2009, the Company had a systems order backlog of $794 thousand, compared to a systems order backlog of $2.8 million at December 31, 2008.  After the completion and delivery of systems in January our order backlog declined further to $693 thousand at January 31, 2010.  Although the current backlog is lower, the Company has ongoing negotiations that should result in additional orders.

The Company posts current financial statements and other important information on PinkSheets.com (http://www.pinksheets.com; symbol: SORT.PK), as well as the Company’s own website (http://guntherintl.com).  

About Gunther International Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Norwich, Connecticut, Gunther International designs, manufactures and services high-speed production mailing systems to organizations that define professional customer communications as an integral part of their business. This includes insurance, healthcare, financial, utilities, pharmaceutical, service bureaus, government agencies and other companies that have a vested interest in maintaining guaranteed integrity in their mail processing. Gunther International is publicly traded on OTC Pink Sheets under the symbol “SORT.PK”. Additional Company information is available at www.guntherintl.com.

Statements in this release concerning Gunther’s business outlook, future financial and operating results, and overall future prospects are forward looking statements that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in those forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including: general economic conditions globally or regionally; business and economic conditions in the mailing industry; changes in overall technology spending; increases in competition; the timing of orders and their fulfillment; availability and cost of key parts and supplies; ability to establish and maintain relationships with customers; variations in the expected mix of products sold; changes in customer mix; customer and industry analyst perceptions of Gunther and its technology, products and future prospects; delays in scheduled product availability; market acceptance of our products and services; rapid technological and market change; adoption of regulations or standards affecting our products, services or industry; the ability to successfully acquire, integrate and manage businesses and technologies; product defects, returns or vulnerabilities; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; currency fluctuations; and litigation; and other factors listed in our most recent audited financial statements. All statements made in this press release are made only as of the date set forth at the beginning of this release. Gunther undertakes no obligation to update the information in this release in the event facts or circumstances subsequently change after the date of this press release.