Kewaunee Scientific Reports Results for Fiscal Year and Fourth Quarter.

STATESVILLE, N.C: Kewaunee Scientific Corporation (NASDAQ: KEQU) today announced results for its fourth quarter and its fiscal year ended April 30, 2019.

Full Year, Fiscal Year 2019 Results:

Sales of $146,550,000, a decrease of 7.3% from the prior year.

Pre-tax earnings of $2,134,000, a decrease of 77.8% from the prior year.

Net earnings of $1,529,000, a decrease of 71.0% from the prior year.

Diluted earnings per share of $0.55, a decrease of 71.1% from the prior year.

Order backlog of $100,829,000 at April 30, 2019, a decrease of 13.3% from the prior year.

Fourth Quarter, Fiscal Year 2019 Results:

Sales of $34,748,000, a decrease of 21.9%, as compared to sales of $44,508,000 in the prior year fourth quarter.

Pre-tax loss of $1,554,000 as compared to pre-tax income of $2,640,000 in the prior year fourth quarter.

Net loss of $1,270,000 as compared to net income of $1,556,000 in the prior year fourth quarter.

Diluted loss per share of $(0.46), as compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.56 in the prior year fourth quarter. One-time non-operating costs related to management changes had an unfavorable impact of $0.31 per share on earnings for the quarter.

Sales during fiscal year 2019 were $146,550,000, a decrease of 7.3% from sales of $158,050,000 in the prior year. Domestic sales for the fiscal year were $116,586,000, an increase of 1.7% from sales of $114,594,000 in the prior year. International sales for the fiscal year were $29,964,000, a decrease of 31.0% from sales of $43,456,000 in the prior year.

Pre-tax earnings for the fiscal year were $2,134,000, a decrease of 77.8% compared to $9,619,000 for the prior period. Net earnings decreased 71.0% for the fiscal year to $1,529,000, or $0.55 per diluted share, as compared to net earnings of $5,281,000, or $1.90 per diluted share, for the year ended April 30, 2018.

Pre-tax earnings were impacted by a significant decline in the Company's Domestic operating volumes during the second half of the fiscal year and higher raw material costs in steel and resin that were not able to be passed along to customers. International pre-tax earnings were impacted by the year-over-year decline in sales as well as the year-over-year decline in the exchange rate of the Indian rupee versus the US dollar. Finally, overall profitability was impacted by one-time non-operating costs related to management changes.

The Company's order...