Collins Industries Announces Restatement of Financial Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan., March 2 -- Collins Industries, Inc. announced that, as a result of the Company's previously disclosed review of its self-insured reserves for estimated worker compensation claims in the states of Florida and Kansas, the Company will restate its previously issued financial statements for the 2002 and 2003 fiscal years to correct the manner in which the Company had established and recorded these reserves. In addition, the Company's previously released financial information for fiscal 2004 will also be restated. Accordingly, the previously issued financial statements and financial information for the above periods should no longer be relied upon.

The Company has discovered issues with workers compensation claims for injuries dating back to 1992. The preliminary unaudited adjustments are expected to increase annual net income by $50,000 to $200,000 in each of the fiscal years ended 2002, 2003 and 2004. In addition, the adjustments are expected to result in a decrease to shareholders' equity at October 31, 2001 of $650,000 to $850,000. These adjustments have not been finalized and are subject to audit by the Company's outside auditors KPMG LLP. The final adjustments may differ materially from these estimates and may be greater or less than these estimates.

The Company will amend the appropriate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission to include the restated financial statements. The decision to restate prior financial statements was made with the concurrence of the Company's independent auditors.

The Audit Committee has hired an independent third party administrator and independent legal counsel to assist in its investigation of the reserves, and the investigation is ongoing. Until the review is complete, the Company will not be able to fully assess the impact of these actions on the Company. The Company is working diligently to complete this investigation.

Collins Industries, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of ambulances (including medical attack vehicles, rescue vehicles and fire emergency vehicles), North America's largest producer of Type "A" small school buses, the nation's second largest manufacturer of terminal trucks and a leader in the road construction and industrial sweeper markets. Since 1971, the Company has grown to approximately 900 employees in six plants comprising over one million combined square feet of manufacturing space. The Company sells its products throughout the United States and abroad.