Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. Reports Modest Profit for Quarter

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With its governmental markets still depressed, Allied Healthcare Products (Nasdaq: AHPI) earned a modest profit in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011 and improvement in its year-over-year performance.

Net income for the quarter ending December 31 was $117,000, or 1 cent per basic and diluted share, compared to $22,000, or zero cents per share, for the previous year's quarter. For the first two quarters of the fiscal year, net income was about $29,000, or zero cents per basic and diluted share, compared to a loss of $723,000, or a negative 9 cents per share, for the previous year's first two quarters. Allied earnings in the previous year were affected by a non-cash charge of $609,000 for a grant of stock options.

Sales for the second quarter totaled about $11.4 million, slightly below the mark set in the previous year's quarter. For the first six months of the fiscal year, sales increased by about $605,000, or 2.7 percent, to about $23.3 million.

Unanticipated costs of about $280,000 associated with the introduction of a new product depressed results for the quarter. Most of those costs were a one-time event.

In the first half of the fiscal year, prices for commodity materials such as brass and steel increased 8 percent. Still, Allied managed to hold overall purchased material costs to an increase of less than 1 percent. Also, the company reduced selling, general and administrative (SG&A) costs by about 10 percent for the quarter, the second consecutive quarter in which significant SG&A reductions were achieved.

"Our cost structure is strong, so we are well-positioned to take advantage of an upturn in the market," said Earl Refsland, Allied president and chief executive officer.

Allied Healthcare Products manufactures a variety of respiratory products used in the healthcare industry in a range of hospital and alternate care settings including sub-acute facilities, home healthcare and emergency medical care. Allied product lines include respiratory care products, medical gas equipment and emergency medical products. Allied products are marketed to hospitals, hospital equipment dealers, hospital construction contractors, home healthcare dealers and emergency medical product dealers.

"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT: Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts or information are "forward-looking statements." Words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," and other expressions that indicate future events and trends identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome and future results of operations and financial condition to be materially different than stated or anticipated based on the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include both general economic risks and uncertainties, risks and uncertainties affecting the demand for and economic factors affecting the delivery of health care services, and specific matters which relate directly to the Company's operations and properties as discussed in its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions that any forward-looking statement contained in this report reflects only the belief of the Company or its management at the time the statement was made. Although the Company believes such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such assumptions may ultimately prove inaccurate or incomplete. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement was made.