Ceradyne, Inc. Releases Preliminary 2000 Results in Dow Jones Interview; Earnings to Exceed Street Estimates

15 January 2001

Ceradyne, Inc. Releases Preliminary 2000 Results in Dow Jones Interview; Earnings to Exceed Street Estimates

    COSTA MESA, Calif.--Jan. 15, 2001--Ceradyne Inc. , in an earlier interview with Dow Jones News Service, released preliminary, unaudited results for the fourth quarter and 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2000, and expects per-share earnings to exceed street estimates.
    Sales for the fourth quarter were $11.6 million, up 30 percent from $8.9 million in the fourth quarter of 1999. Per-share earnings for the quarter are anticipated at 14 cents, representing a 75 percent increase over per-share earnings of 8 cents for fourth quarter 1999. The expected 14 cents per-share result would exceed the I/B/E/S consensus street estimate of 11 cents by more than 27 percent.
    Sales for the 12-month period increased 51 percent to a record $45.9 million from $30.4 million in 1999. Based on the company's fourth-quarter per-share estimate of 14 cents, earnings for the year are expected to be 61 cents per share, more than tripling 1999 earnings per share of 20 cents.
    Fourth-quarter new bookings of $16.2 million set a record for bookings in a single quarter, and were more than double the $7.2 million in bookings in the year-ago quarter. New bookings for the year also reached record levels, rising to $50.9 million from $37.6 million in 1999 for a year-to-year increase of more than 35 percent.
    Joel P. Moskowitz, Ceradyne chief executive officer and chairman, commented: "Record new bookings for the quarter surpassed our earlier estimates and clearly reflect growing demand for our applications of advanced ceramics technology. In addition, the very significant increase in orders in 2000 supports our further expectations for continued sales growth in the coming year."
    Final results will be released by mid-March 2001.
    Ceradyne develops, manufactures and markets advanced technical ceramics for industrial, electronic, defense and consumer applications. Additional information can be found at the company's Web site: www.ceradyne.com.

    This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Ceradyne that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties are described in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 1999, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.