Flexsteel Industries, Inc. Announces Improved Expectations for Third and Fourth Quarter Sales and Operating Results

    DUBUQUE, Iowa--March 18, 2002--Flexsteel Industries, Inc. announced today that it expects it's sales for the third quarter ending March 31, 2002 to be slightly better than previously anticipated and operating results to be significantly higher than previously expected.
    K. B. Lauritsen, President and Chief Executive Officer said "Residential seating orders were stronger than expected in January and have remained at a very solid level throughout the quarter. The continued growth of our Comfort Gallery program, the acceptance of the Christopher Lowell collection, and the apparent rebound of consumer confidence have favorably impacted the March quarter. We now expect this improvement will continue for the balance of our fiscal year ending June 30, 2002."
    Lauritsen continued "Vehicle seating sales have also improved since the first of the year, with the strongest growth in motor home seating. This is the first improvement in vehicle seating sales in nearly two years."
    Mr. Lauritsen concluded, "After a very difficult 2001, we have been encouraged by the sales trends throughout the March quarter. Assuming the economic recovery continues, our fiscal year third and fourth quarter sales and operating results should meet or slightly exceed the levels that we achieved in the latter half of calendar year 2000."
    The Company will host a live conference call to review third quarter and year to date operating results at 8:30 am CST on April 17, 2002. Access to the conference call is open to the press and general public in a listen only mode. To access the conference call, please dial 1-800-556-3831 with access code 00566. The telephone playback will be available for two weeks beginning approximately four hours after the conclusion of the call by dialing 1-888-813-1488 and no access code is required.
    Certain statements made in this release are not based on historical facts, but are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These statements reflect the Company's judgment with respect to the future and investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could affect results are the cyclical nature of the furniture industry, the effectiveness of new product introductions, the product mix of our sales, the cost of raw materials, the amount of sales generated and the profit margins thereon, competition, both foreign and domestic, credit exposure to customers and general economic conditions. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.