Pregis Announces Fouth Quarter and Full Year 2007 Financi...( DEERFIELD Ill. March 19 /- Pregis...),Health

DEERFIELD, Ill., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Pregis Corporation, a leading international manufacturer, marketer, and supplier of protective packaging products and specialty packaging solutions, today announced its 2007 fourth quarter and full year financial results.

For the fourth quarter of 2007, the Company generated net sales of $253.7 million, an increase of 7.8% versus net sales of $235.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Excluding the impact of favorable foreign currency translation, the quarter's net sales were relatively flat compared to the prior year quarter. Gross profit margin, as a percent of net sales, increased to 23.9% in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to 23.3% for the same period of 2006.

For the full year 2007, net sales increased 5.8% to $979.4 million as compared to $925.5 million in 2006. Excluding the impact of favorable foreign currency translation, net sales for the full year were also relatively flat compared to the prior year. Gross profit margin, as a percent of net sales, increased to 24.4% for the year 2007 compared to 22.9% for 2006.

Commenting on the Company's results, Mike McDonnell, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We concluded 2007 with solid results and with a strong platform to drive our performance in 2008. We successfully grew volumes through new product introductions and both internal and acquisitive geographic expansion, and we made significant investments in new manufacturing capabilities to position ourselves for future growth. This volume growth helped to offset volume declines experienced by our North American protective packaging businesses, resulting from a weakened North American economic environment as well as the impact of our product and customer mix rationalization efforts carrying over from the prior year."

"In 2007 we increased our gross margin percentage by 150-basis points, despite the challenging market conditions and unprecedented raw material cost incre
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