Ennis Reports Revenue and Earnings Declines, Better Margins

Keith Walters, Chairman, President & CEO, commented by saying, "Our earnings performance as a percentage of sales improved this quarter as compared to the same quarter last year, even with the 10.3% decline we experienced in our sales. Our sales continue to be impacted by the negative economic environment and competitors’ pricing strategies. I am proud of the fact that during the quarter even given our competitors’ pricing strategies, we were able to increase both our gross margin and net earnings margin, as a percent of sales, by 20 basis points and 30 basis points, respectively. We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet, with excellent liquidity and leverage ratios. I am extremely pleased with our management of our balance sheet during this difficult time, as we have been able to generate $71.5 million in cash from our operations, almost doubling our last year’s production, which we have used to fund our capital expenditures, increase our cash position and pay-down our outstanding debt, reducing our debt-to-equity to less than 0.14-to-1.0. While these economic times continue to be challenging, we remain optimistic in our ability to maintain our earnings level."