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Thursday, August 02, 2007

Steinway Reports Q2 2007 Results Gross Margin Up from 25% to 31%

Steinway Reports Q2 2007 Results Gross Margin Up from 25% to 31%

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:LVB) , one of the world's leading manufacturers of musical instruments, today announced results for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2007.

Revenues for the second quarter remained level with the second quarter of 2006 as a 5% increase in piano sales offset a 7% decline in band sales. Increased production of professional level brass instruments and an increase in higher margin piano sales overseas contributed to an improvement in gross margin of 600 basis points. Operating expenses decreased 13% and net interest expense decreased 20%. The operating expense improvement reflects a $3.9 million reduction in bad debt expense versus the prior year period.

For the quarter, EPS improved by $0.47 as the Company generated earnings of $0.37 per share compared to a loss of $0.10 per share (Adjusted loss of $0.03 per share) in the prior year period. The 2006 Adjustments, primarily costs associated with a labor strike and a loss on the early extinguishment of debt, are detailed in the attached financial tables.

Band Operations

Sales of professional trumpets and trombones produced at the Company's Elkhart brass plant improved significantly over the prior year period. However, the impact of an ongoing dealer consolidation coupled with inventory reductions by some key accounts led to an overall sales decline of $2.9 million, to $37.9 million. Gross margins increased sharply to 22.7% from 13.3% on improved sales of higher margin professional instruments, greater production at the Company's Elkhart brass plant, and lower charges for excess or obsolete inventory versus the comparable period last year.

Sales for the six-month period ended June 30, 2007 declined to $78.4 million, or 17%, as a result of the impact of dealer consolidation and inventory reduction, as well as the labor strike in the early part of the year. Margins improved to 21.4% from 18.6% largely due to production increases at the Company's Elkhart brass plant and lower inventory reserve charges.

Piano Operations

Increased sales of the Company's mid-priced pianos and strong institutional sales contributed to an increase in overall piano sales to $54.4 million, an increase of $2.7 million. In addition, currency translation positively impacted revenues by $1.6 million. Overseas shipments of Steinway grand pianos were up 23%, mitigating the impact of a decrease in domestic grand shipments, resulting in a 20% decline worldwide. The Company's Essex pianos continue to perform well, leading to an 87% increase in worldwide shipments of mid-priced pianos for the quarter. The large increase in Steinway grand sales overseas coupled with improved factory performance resulted in an increase in gross margins to 36.7% from 34.3% for the same period last year.

Year-to-date, piano revenues were up 14%, to $107.3 million, with worldwide unit shipments of mid-priced pianos up 87% and shipments of Steinway grands down 7%. For the six-month period, gross margins improved from 33.7% to 36.3%.

Comments

"Our overall results for the quarter were good," stated CEO Dana Messina. "We met our prior year sales figure, significantly improved gross margins and controlled our operating expenses. As a result, operating profit and Adjusted EBITDA improved dramatically for the quarter."

Discussing second quarter results of the piano segment, Messina said, "Our overseas piano business remains strong. In June, we shipped over 50 Steinway pianos to the Cork School of Music. Domestically, our year-to-date results have been softer than we'd like but we have fared much better than our competitors. Looking at the next six months, we expect our overall piano business to be stable."

Messina continued, "We are making great progress at our Elkhart brass plant. Our new workers are making high quality instruments and are becoming more efficient daily. As a result, unit production of professional instruments has doubled versus the first quarter of this year. Unfortunately, some of our larger band dealers have reduced purchasing in an effort to better control their inventory levels. Looking at the next six months, we expect that trend to continue."

"In conclusion, despite mixed sales results by market and division, we've improved our gross margins significantly and reduced our expenses with a predictable impact on overall earnings. We're very comfortable with our position relative to our industry peers and expect to continue to monitor industry conditions for opportunities to add market share."

Conference Call

Management will be discussing the Company's second quarter results and outlook for the remainder of 2007 on a conference call today beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET. A live webcast and an archive of the call will be available to all interested parties on the Company's website, http://www.steinwaymusical.com/ .

About Steinway Musical Instruments

Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc., through its Steinway and Conn-Selmer divisions, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of musical instruments. Its notable products include Bach Stradivarius trumpets, Selmer Paris saxophones, C.G. Conn French horns, Leblanc clarinets, King trombones, Ludwig snare drums and Steinway & Sons pianos.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures Used by Steinway Musical Instruments

The Company uses the non-GAAP measurement Adjusted EBITDA, which it defines as earnings before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to exclude non-recurring, infrequent or unusual items. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA because it is useful to management and investors as a measure of the Company's core operating performance. The Company also believes Adjusted EBITDA is helpful in determining the Company's ability to meet future debt service, capital expenditures and working capital requirements. In addition, certain of the Company's debt covenants are based upon Adjusted EBITDA calculations and the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as the basis for determining bonuses for its managers. However, Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as a substitute for income from operations or a better indicator of liquidity than cash flows from operating activities, which are determined in accordance with GAAP.

The Company has provided other non-GAAP measurements which present operating results on a basis excluding certain non-comparable items. The Company has provided Adjusted financial information because management uses it to make meaningful comparisons of performance between periods. However, there are limitations in the use of such information because the Company's actual results do include the impact of these Adjustments. The non-GAAP measures are intended only as a supplement to the comparable GAAP measures.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This release contains "forward-looking statements" which represent the Company's present expectations or beliefs concerning future events. The Company cautions that such statements are necessarily based on certain assumptions which are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in this release. These risk factors include the following: changes in general economic conditions; recent geopolitical events; increased competition; work stoppages and slowdowns; impact of dealer consolidations on orders; ability of new workers to meet desired production levels; exchange rate fluctuations; variations in the mix of products sold; market acceptance of new product and distribution strategies; ability of suppliers to meet demand; concentration of credit risk; fluctuations in effective tax rates resulting from shifts in sources of income; and the ability to successfully integrate and operate acquired businesses. Further information on these risk factors is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

   Contact:    Julie A. Theriault   Telephone:  781-894-9770   Email:      ir@steinwaymusical.com                          STEINWAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, INC.                  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income                     (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)                                  (Unaudited)                                        Three Months Ended  Six Months Ended                                      6/30/2007 6/30/2006 6/30/2007 6/30/2006    Net sales                            $92,257  $92,423  $185,689  $187,617   Cost of sales                         63,692   69,274   129,884   138,476     Gross profit                        28,565   23,149    55,805    49,141                                          31.0%    25.0%     30.1%     26.2%    Operating expenses:     Sales and marketing                 11,429   11,063    24,093    22,733     Provision for doubtful accounts        592    4,505       718     4,562     General and administrative           8,141    7,811    17,151    16,189     Amortization                           196      197       392       426     Other operating expenses               158      (32)    1,035       115   Total operating expenses              20,516   23,544    43,389    44,025      Income (loss) from operations        8,049     (395)   12,416     5,116   Interest expense, net                  2,523    3,152     4,675     5,900   Other (income) expense, net              (21)   2,368      (191)    8,228     Income (loss) before income taxes    5,547   (5,915)    7,932    (9,012)   Income tax provision (benefit)         2,394   (5,054)    3,349    (6,309)     Net income (loss)                   $3,153    ($861)   $4,583   ($2,703)    Earnings (loss) per share - basic      $0.37   ($0.10)    $0.54    ($0.33)   Earnings (loss) per share - diluted    $0.36   ($0.10)    $0.53    ($0.33)   Weighted average common shares -    basic                                 8,521    8,332     8,470     8,242   Weighted average common shares -    diluted                               8,662    8,332     8,622     8,242                        Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets                                 (In Thousands)                                  (Unaudited)                                           06/30/2007  06/30/2006  12/31/2006    Cash                                       $9,701     $21,118     $30,409   Receivables, net                           77,284      90,307      75,161   Inventories                               177,144     155,284     154,623   Other current assets                       24,906      30,052      22,485     Total current assets                    289,035     296,761     282,678    Property, plant and equipment, net         94,714      96,448      95,598   Other assets                               70,325      64,886      68,899     Total assets                           $454,074    $458,095    $447,175    Notes payable and current portion of    long-term debt                            $2,889      $5,960      $4,595   Other current liabilities                  60,602      62,353      61,453     Total current liabilities                63,491      68,313      66,048    Long-term debt                            194,749     187,544     173,816   Other liabilities                          55,314      46,266      49,310   Stockholders' equity                      140,520     155,972     158,001     Total liabilities and stockholders'      equity                                $454,074    $458,095    $447,175                        STEINWAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, INC.         Reconciliation of 2006 GAAP Earnings to Adjusted Earnings                   (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)                                (Unaudited)                                        Three Months Ended 6/30/06                                     GAAP    Adjustments   Adjusted    Band sales                       $40,759        $-       $40,759   Piano sales                       51,664         -        51,664      Total sales                    92,423         -        92,423    Band cost of sales                35,324    (1,220)(1)    34,104   Piano cost of sales               33,950         -        33,950      Total cost of sales            69,274    (1,220)       68,054    Band gross profit                  5,435     1,220 (1)     6,655   Piano gross profit                17,714         -        17,714      Total gross profit             23,149     1,220        24,369    Band GM%                           13.3%                   16.3%   Piano GM%                          34.3%                   34.3%      Total GM%                       25.0%                   26.4%    Operating expenses                23,544         -        23,544       (Loss) income from operations    (395)    1,220           825    Interest expense, net              3,152         -         3,152   Other expense (income), net        2,368    (3,063)(2)      (695)       (Loss) income before income       taxes                         (5,915)    4,283        (1,632)    Income tax (benefit) provision    (5,054)    3,660 (3)    (1,394)       Net (loss) income               ($861)     $623         ($238)    Loss per share - basic            ($0.10)                 ($0.03)   Loss per share - diluted          ($0.10)                 ($0.03)   Weighted average common shares -    basic                             8,332                   8,332   Weighted average common shares -    diluted                           8,332                   8,332                                           Six Months Ended 6/30/06                                      GAAP   Adjustments  Adjusted    Band sales                       $93,825        $-      $93,825   Piano sales                       93,792         -       93,792      Total sales                   187,617         -      187,617    Band cost of sales                76,329    (1,291)(4)   75,038   Piano cost of sales               62,147         -       62,147      Total cost of sales           138,476    (1,291)     137,185    Band gross profit                 17,496     1,291 (4)   18,787   Piano gross profit                31,645         -       31,645      Total gross profit             49,141     1,291       50,432    Band GM%                           18.6%                  20.0%   Piano GM%                          33.7%                  33.7%      Total GM%                       26.2%                  26.9%    Operating expenses                44,025         -       44,025       Income from operations          5,116     1,291        6,407    Interest expense, net              5,900         -        5,900   Other expense (income), net        8,228    (9,674)(2)   (1,446)     (Loss) income before income     taxes                           (9,012)   10,965        1,953    Income tax (benefit) provision    (6,309)    7,676 (3)    1,367       Net (loss) income             ($2,703)   $3,289         $586    (Loss) earnings per share -    basic                            ($0.33)                 $0.07   (Loss) earnings per share -    diluted                          ($0.33)                 $0.07   Weighted average common shares -    basic                             8,242                  8,242   Weighted average common shares -    diluted                           8,242                  8,242    Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP Earnings to Adjusted Earnings    (1) Reflects $59 charges relating to the step-up of inventory and $1,161       of unabsorbed overhead associated with a labor strike.   (2) Reflects loss on extinguishment of debt.   (3) Reflects the tax effect of Adjustments at the Company's effective rate       for the period.   (4) Reflects $130 charges relating to the step-up of inventory and $1,161       of unabsorbed overhead associated with a labor strike.                         STEINWAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, INC.         Reconciliation from Income from Operations to Adjusted EBITDA                                (In Thousands)                                  (Unaudited)                                                  Three Months Ended                                            06/30/2007        06/30/2006    Income (loss) from operations              $8,049             $(395)   Other income (expense), net                    21            (2,368)   Depreciation                                2,448             2,575   Amortization                                  196               197   Non-recurring, infrequent or unusual    items                                        -               4,283   Adjusted EBITDA                           $10,714            $4,292                                                    Six Months Ended                                            06/30/2007        06/30/2006    Income from operations                     $12,416            $5,116   Other income (expense), net                    191            (8,228)   Depreciation                                 4,821             5,013   Amortization                                   392               426   Non-recurring, infrequent or unusual    items                                         -              10,965   Adjusted EBITDA                            $17,820           $13,292  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc.

CONTACT: Julie A. Theriault of Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc.,
+1-781-894-9770, ir@steinwaymusical.com

Web site: http://www.steinwaymusical.com/


Profile: International Entertainment

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