Kewaunee Scientific Announces First Quarter Results and Quarterl...( STATESVILLE N.C. Aug. 22 /- Kewau...)

STATESVILLE, N.C., Aug. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (Nasdaq: KEQU) today announced results for its first quarter ended July 31, 2007 and the declaration of its quarterly dividend.

Net earnings for the quarter were $674,000, or $0.27 per diluted share, as compared to net earnings of $133,000, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the first quarter of the prior year. Earnings continued to benefit from improved profit margins, increased manufacturing efficiencies, savings from alternate sources for raw materials and components, and other cost improvement initiatives.

Sales for the quarter were $20,784,000, an increase of 7.7% from sales of $19,294,000 in the prior year. Sales from domestic operations were $18,014,000, an increase of 8.0% from the prior year period. The domestic marketplace for laboratory products continued to be healthy during the quarter, particularly in the educational research market and for the larger laboratory projects. The marketplace for small and mid-size laboratory projects showed signs of improvement during the quarter, although it remains very price competitive. Sales from international operations were $2,770,000, an increase of 5.7% from the prior year period.

Incoming orders remained strong during the quarter. The order backlog increased to a record $54.7 million at July 31, 2007, up from $51.1 million at April 30, 2007, and $36.5 million at July 31, 2006.

"Our strategic efforts over the past several years to make Kewaunee a more efficient company are working well," said William A. Shumaker, President and Chief Executive Officer. "On-going investments in modern, computerized equipment, the implementation of 'Lean' manufacturing techniques,
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