WEST WARWICK – Record sales in the fiscal quarter ended Aug. 4 helped Astro-Med Inc. (Nasdaq: ALOT) record a second-quarter profit of $886,000, or 12 cents per diluted share, a 20-percent increase compared with the year-ago period.

Second-quarter sales grew by 15 percent compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2007, to $18.7 million.

For the first half of fiscal 2008, the company posted net income of $1.41 million or 19 cents per diluted share – a 9.7-percent increase from the first half of fiscal 2007 – on sales that grew 10 percent to $35.1 million.

“We’re pleased with the results,” CEO Albert W. Ondis said yesterday in the after-market report, adding: “We've achieved significant sales growth as a company, but we are especially gratified that second-quarter sales were robust in ... all our brands, both domestically and internationally.”

Second-quarter sales of Astro-Med’s QuickLabel Systems label printer and consumable products grew 23 percent compared with the year-ago period, to $9.66 million. Sales under the Test & Measurement brand also increased 23 percent, reaching $4.50 million.

Sales for the Grass Technologies brand grew 13 percent from their first-quarter level, to $4.53 million, although they declined from the second quarter of fiscal 2007, the company said.

(The Grass Technologies division – a leader in the development of integrated systems to detect sleep disorders – this month announced a pact with the Association of Black Cardiologists Inc. to jointly promote the education and treatment of sleep-related disorders. “The ABC is a leader among professional health care organizations in recognizing the connection between sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease,” Ondis said in announcing the alliance, “and is recognized worldwide for its dedication to eliminating the disproportionately high rate of cardiovascular disease among minority populations.” READ MORE)

“Company sales to international customers for the quarter increased 35 percent, which demonstrates our growing international footprint,” Ondis said, and, “While down over the fiscal 2007 second quarter, gross profit margins of 41.9 percent showed improvement over the first quarter.”

Going forward, he added, “We anticipate sales to improve favorably throughout the remainder of the year compared with the same periods last year. ... Astro-Med continues to use its strong financial position to invest in new product development programs, and we are poised for significant continued growth.”

On Monday, the Astro-Med board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 5 cents per share. The cash dividend is payable Oct. 1 to shareholders of record on Sept. 7

Astro-Med Inc. (Nasdaq: ALOT) is a maker of specialty printing, testing and measurement systems for industrial, scientific and medical applications. On June 22, during the Russell Investment Group’s annual reconstituting of its U.S. and global indexes, the company was added to the 2,000-stock Russell Microcap Index. Additional information is available at www.astro-medinc.com.