On May 19, 2009, the company’s board declared the regular quarterly cash dividend of 6 cents per share, payable on July 1, 2009 to shareholders of record on June 12, 2009.
Commenting on the results, Albert W. Ondis, chief executive officer, stated: We are disappointed but not surprised with the First Quarter results. As was evident during the second half of our previous fiscal year, we are experiencing the adverse effects of this global recession in all of our markets and in all of our product lines. Although customer interest in our advanced products is extremely high, companies are reluctant to make capital equipment purchases. Additionally, they are purchasing consumable products such as label supplies in order to satisfy immediate needs only, with no provision to stock a supply for future use. We believe these purchasing patterns will continue until there are clear signs that the global recession is abating. Meanwhile, we are maintaining a very high level of marketing and sales activity, customer support, new product development, and are poised for a fast recovery.
The Company’s balance sheet at the end of the Quarter is quite healthy. Our cash and investment balances are $22,475,000, reflecting an increase of $370,000 from the prior year end; we improved the current ratio from 6.1:1 to 6.4:1; we remain free of any debt obligation; and we retain a book value of $7.19 per share.
Astro-Med develops, manufactures, and sells hardware and software systems that acquire, process, analyze, and present data for performance testing, neurophysiological testing, and packaging identification uses.
