Ennis Business Forms, Inc. Reports Increased Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2003 Results

Business Wire, April 15, 2003

Business Editors

DESOTO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 2003

Ennis Business Forms, Inc. (NYSE:EBF) today reported increased sales and operating results for its fourth quarter and year ended February 28, 2003.

"The Company's performance record through another fiscal year of challenging economic and industry conditions is one for which we are proud," Keith Walters, Chairman and CEO of Ennis Business Forms, Inc. stated. "The Company's focus on controlling costs is reflected in the results of operations, and Calibrated Forms Co., Inc., which was acquired in November 2002, has performed in accordance with expectations."

For the fourth quarter ended February 28, 2003, net sales amounted to $67,217,000 compared to $58,947,000 for the same period last year, an increase of 14%. Net earnings for the quarter amounted to $4,455,000 or $.27 per diluted share, compared to $3,641,000, or $.22 per diluted share for the corresponding period last year, an increase of 22%. Per share earnings computations were based on 16,491,824 shares for the quarter compared to 16,319,535 shares for the prior period.

For the twelve months ended February 28, 2003, net sales amounted to $240,757,000 compared to $236,923,000 for the same period last year, an increase of 1.6%. Net earnings for the twelve months amounted to $15,247,000 or $.93 per diluted share, compared to $14,966,000 or $.92 per diluted share for the corresponding period last year, an increase of 1.9%. Per share earnings computations were based on 16,478,140 shares for the twelve months compared to 16,318,718 shares for the prior period.

Revenues for both the quarter and year ended February 28, 2003 increased primarily as a result of the inclusion of Calibrated Forms Co., Inc. (Calibrated). Calibrated was acquired in November 2002 to augment the Forms Solutions Group. This Group, excluding Calibrated, continued to be impacted by both the general economy and industry declines. Calibrated contributed $11,050,000 of revenues for the full fiscal year, and $9,835,000 for the quarter. The Promotional Solutions Group experienced a decline in revenue for the year ended February 28, 2003 of 3.6% with 1.5% of that decline coming in the fourth quarter. Conversely, the Financial Solutions Group has a revenue increase of 2.2% for the full fiscal year, with approximately one-half of that increase occurring in the fourth quarter.

Earnings for the quarter and full fiscal year exceeded both the periods in the prior year. Excluding the impact of the adoption of Statement of Accounting Standard No. 142 (Goodwill and Intangible Assets (SFAS No. 142) on March 1, 2002, the full fiscal year earnings were below the prior year. The impact of the adoption of SFAS No. 142 was to increase fiscal year 2003 earnings by approximately $.06 per diluted share. The primary reason for the decrease is the lagging performance of the Forms Solutions Group, which has been reported throughout the fiscal year. Earnings in the fourth quarter improved over the same quarter in 2002 after giving consideration to the adoption of SFAS No. 142. This is attributable to the inclusion of Calibrated for the full fiscal quarter. Calibrated contributed after-tax earnings of $734,000 ($.04 per diluted share) for the full fiscal year, and $650,000 ($.04 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter. Earnings contribution from the Promotional and Financial Solutions Groups were reflective of the changes in revenues.

Ennis Business Forms, Inc., (NYSE:EBF) is one of the largest private-label printed business product suppliers in the United States. Headquartered in DeSoto, Texas, the Company has 30 production facilities located in 12 states, strategically located to serve the Company's national network of distributors. Ennis offers an extensive product line from simple to complex forms, laser cut-sheets, negotiable documents, internal bank forms, tags, labels, presentation folders, commercial printing, advertising specialties, screen printed products, and point-of-purchase display advertising that can be custom designed to customer needs. In addition, Ennis maintains highly proficient regional Customer Sales Centers to support distributors in their business efforts.