Weak sales at Galaxy Nutritional

Sales at Galaxy Nutritional Foods, the producer of plant-based dairy alternatives, dropped by 11 per cent during the second quarter of 2002 compared to the same period last year. CEO Angelo Morini insisted however that the company would continue to focus on efficiency measures.

Sales at Galaxy Nutritional Foods, the producer of plant-based dairy alternatives, dropped by 11 per cent during the second quarter of 2002 compared to the same period last year.Net sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2002 were $10 million compared to net sales of $11.4 million for the comparable quarter last year.

Angelo S. Morini, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Galaxy, explained the lack of increase in sales as a result of a tactical change of the company's product mix. "This successful strategy has allowed the company to be profitable at manageable levels," he said, insisting that demand for Galaxy products has not slowed.

He added that the company would be spending on new production equipment and working on restructuring, in order to boost sales.

Net income improved however, from a net loss of $5,893,800 for the same period last year to $765,133 this quarter.

Operating income for the second quarter of fiscal 2003 was $1.7 million versus an operating loss of $4.3 million for the second quarter last year. Approximately $1.35 million of the $1.7 million net operating profit was income from non-cash benefit related to stock options and warrants.

Gross margin in the quarter was up to 30 per cent as compared with 16 per cent for the second quarter last year, said Galaxy, and gross margin has increased to 29 per cent for the first six months of 2003 from an annual rate of 19 per cent in fiscal 2002.

"I believe it is very important at this time to continue strengthening our internal controls and efficiencies, continue to stabilize our raw material costs, and concentrate our selling focus on our higher-margin products," said Morini. "These measures have positively affected our gross margin, operating profit, cash flow and EBITDA and we expect these controls and strategies will continue to keep Galaxy on a positive operating path."

Galaxy brand names include Galaxy Nutritional Foods, Veggie, Nature's Alternative, Soyco and Wholesome Valley. See Galaxy's website for today's conference call.