SPRINGDALE, Ark., Nov. 4, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:AERT), a leading plastics recycler and manufacturer of Green building products, announced today that sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 improved 3% to $19.1 million compared to $18.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Gross margin from operations for the quarter, before additional class action claims accruals, improved to 26% of net sales from 13% last year.
The company reduced its SG&A costs by $1.3 million or by 31% in the quarter. Operating income for the quarter was $2.0 million before the class action accruals, an improvement of $4.2 million from an operating loss of $2.2 million before class action accrual in the third quarter of 2008.
Net income before accruals improved to $1.0 million in the third quarter of 2009, compared to a net loss before class action accruals of $1.5 million in 2008.
The filing deadline approved by the court for class action settlement claims was September, 2009. Due to a large, unexpected influx of claims in the final weeks prior to the September deadline, the company has increased its estimate for satisfying the claims by an additional $5.1 million.
The company is currently finalizing the processing of all claim requests with incomplete requests being returned and claimants receiving an additional 90 days to complete claim forms and return them to the company as mandated by the court. It is AERT's position to be proactive and to promptly resolve customer issues. Under the court approved class action settlement the company's maximum annual cash exposure is capped at $2.0 million.
Commenting on the results, AERT CEO, Joe Brooks stated, "We are very pleased with AERT's year over year sales growth for the quarter, especially in the current economic environment. We believe AERT has increased its share in a market that overall has shrunk. The improved margin, before additional accruals, is further evidence of the operational improvements that have been implemented by our management team led by AERT President, Tim Morrison and CFO, Brian Hanna. AERT received a large, unexpected influx of claims in the final weeks prior to the September cut-off, but we will diligently address these as AERT remains focused on and committed to serving our customers," Brooks concluded.
AERT will file its 10-Q on Friday, November 13th, 2009 with a third quarter conference call scheduled for Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 4:00 EST/3:00 CDT. To join the call, please dial 1-800-289-0456. Web access to the conference call can be found at http://www.aertinc.com/investor.asp.
About Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.
Since 1989, AERT (Nasdaq:AERT) has pioneered the use of recycled polyethylene plastic in the manufacture of composite building materials. With its constantly evolving portfolio of patented and proprietary recycling technologies, AERT has been widely recognized as a leader in resource conservation innovation and received the EPA Award for Environmental Excellence for its process of converting scrap plastic to composite outdoor decking. AERT converts reclaimed plastic and wood fiber waste into quality outdoor decking systems, fence systems, and door and window components. The Company is the exclusive manufacturer of Weyerhaeuser ChoiceDek(R) decking, which is available in multiple colors and is sold in all Lowe's Home Improvement stores. See http://www.choicedek.com for more information. AERT's MoistureShield(R) decking program is expanding and products are available in many parts of the U.S. now, with national distribution planned for 2009. See http://www.moistureshield.com for product information or to find a regional distributor or dealer. AERT operates manufacturing facilities in Springdale and Lowell, with a raw materials facility in Junction, Texas and a state-of-the-art recycling facility under construction in Watts, Oklahoma. For more information on the Company, visit http://www.aertinc.com.
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Certain statements in this news release regarding projected results of operations, or, projected results of financial plans or future strategies and initiatives, including, but not limited to, projections of revenue, projections of profitability, any and all future expectation, and plans for future activities may and should be regarded as "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements involve, among other things, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause AERT, Inc.'s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. AERT currently is considering, but may or may not in the future implement any or all of the items and issues listed in any planned budget or strategic initiative, due to, among other things, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.
AERT, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, change in strategy, or otherwise. The above-mentioned listing of risks and uncertainties is not inclusive. For a more detailed discussion of some, but not all, of the risks and uncertainties that may affect AERT, Inc., see AERT, Inc.'s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.