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Thursday, May 08, 2008

Steinway Posts Solid Q1 Results EPS $0.23 vs. $0.17

Steinway Posts Solid Q1 Results EPS $0.23 vs. $0.17

WALTHAM, Mass., May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:LVB) , one of the world's leading manufacturers of musical instruments, today announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Revenue and gross profit for the first quarter remained in line with the first quarter of 2007. Operating profit increased 10% and Adjusted EBITDA improved 12%. For the quarter, EPS increased 35%, from $0.17 to $0.23. Adjusted Basic EPS of $0.22 compares to $0.17 in the first quarter of 2007. Adjustments for 2008 are detailed in the attached financial tables.

Band Operations

Band sales for the quarter decreased $1.0 million, or 3%. An increase in sales of professional instruments offset lower shipments of student horns and percussion instruments. The resulting higher mix of professional instrument sales led to improved gross margins for the quarter. Gross margins increased from 20.2% to 21.6%, despite $0.4 million of costs associated with the closure of the Company's Kenosha plant. An increase in unit production at the Company's Elkhart brass plant also had a positive impact on margins for the quarter.

Piano Operations

Worldwide piano sales for the first quarter increased $1.8 million, or 3%, over the prior year period. Overseas markets remain strong, with unit shipments of Steinway grand pianos up 3% and shipments of mid-priced pianos up 43%. Economic conditions continued to negatively impact domestic shipments of Steinway grand pianos, leading to a worldwide decline in Steinway grand unit shipments of 13%. Worldwide, unit shipments of mid-priced pianos increased 18%. This higher mix of mid-priced pianos led to a decrease in gross margins from 36.0% to 34.5%.

Comments

"We are satisfied with our overall results this quarter," stated CEO Dana Messina. "Positive results at our overseas piano business offset soft consumer demand in the United States. We are pleased with the smooth transition to our new management team and are excited about their progress."

Messina added, "Our band instrument turnaround continues to gain traction. Production levels at our Elkhart brass plant improved significantly, enabling us to increase professional instrument sales by more than 20% over the same period last year. We've seen strong demand with band instrument orders up 17% through April. The improved order rates, coupled with better delivery of sourced student product from our Asian suppliers, give us confidence that we will have improved sales results for 2008."

Messina continued with his expectations for band operations, "We continue to make progress reducing our manufacturing footprint. We are on track to complete the previously announced consolidation of a woodwind production facility by the end of the second quarter. Gross margins in the second and

third quarters will be negatively impacted by approximately $1.0 million in costs related to this effort."

Discussing management's outlook for piano operations, Messina said, "We continue to experience solid markets overseas and, unfortunately, a weak market here at home. Based on our expectation for a slow domestic consumer market, we will be reducing production in the second quarter. While we expect this action to assist us in maintaining appropriate inventory levels, the production slowdown will have a significant negative impact on our gross margins. We also expect reduced margins from our Asian operations as the strong euro is making our German pianos more expensive to purchase."

Conference Call

Management will be discussing the Company's first quarter results and outlook for the remainder of 2008 on a conference call tomorrow beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. A live webcast and an archive of the call will be available to all interested parties on the Company's website, 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 in that it eliminates the impact of items that are either out of operating management's control or are otherwise unrelated to how well the Company is completing its manufacturing and operating responsibilities. In addition, the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as the basis for determining bonuses for its managers.

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 as it factors out non-cash expenses such as depreciation and amortization. The Company's domestic credit agreement, which provides for borrowings up to $110.0 million and is a material credit agreement to the Company, contains a minimum Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio which is based on Adjusted EBITDA. A minimum ratio of 1.1 to 1.0 is required to be met if the Company has had less than $20.0 million of availability on its line of credit in the last thirty days. At the end of the most recent period the Company had remaining borrowing availability on the line of credit of $98.7 million (net of letters of credit) and therefore this covenant did not apply. Should this covenant apply and not be met, the Company could be required to make immediate repayment of its line of credit borrowings, if it were unable to obtain a waiver from the lenders.

There are limitations in the use of Adjusted EBITDA because the Company's actual results do include the impact of the noted Adjustments. Accordingly, Adjusted EBITDA should be used as a supplement to the comparable GAAP measures and should not be construed as a substitute for income from operations or net income, or a better indicator of liquidity than cash flows from operating activities, which are determined in accordance with GAAP.

"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                                                    03/31/2008    03/31/2007   Net sales                                           $94,186       $93,432   Cost of sales                                        66,794        66,192     Gross profit                                       27,392        27,240                                                          29.1%         29.2%    Operating expenses:     Sales and marketing                                13,051        12,664     Provision for doubtful accounts                       353           126     General and administrative                          8,583         9,010     Amortization                                          198           196     Other operating expenses                              403           877   Total operating expenses                             22,588        22,873      Income from operations                              4,804         4,367   Interest expense, net                                 2,157         2,152   Other income, net                                      (673)         (170)     Income before income taxes                          3,320         2,385   Income tax provision                                  1,345           955     Net income                                         $1,975        $1,430    Earnings per share - basic                            $0.23         $0.17   Earnings per share - diluted                          $0.23         $0.17   Weighted average common shares - basic                8,579         8,419   Weighted average common shares - diluted              8,655         8,580                      Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets                               (In Thousands)                                (Unaudited)                                           03/31/2008  03/31/2007  12/31/2007   Cash                                      $30,750      $9,449     $37,304   Receivables, net                           70,521      74,025      73,131   Inventories                               162,933     165,686     152,451   Other current assets                       24,606      24,332      22,843     Total current assets                    288,810     273,492     285,729    Property, plant and equipment, net         94,158      94,900      94,150   Other assets                               78,739      70,797      77,799     Total assets                           $461,707    $439,189    $457,678    Debt                                       $2,508      $7,330      $2,285   Other current liabilities                  64,454      56,972      64,701     Total current liabilities                66,962      64,302      66,986    Long-term debt                            168,305     185,357     173,981   Other liabilities                          55,282      54,234      52,932   Stockholders' equity                      171,158     135,296     163,779     Total liabilities and stockholders'      equity                                $461,707    $439,189    $457,678                        STEINWAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, INC.            Reconciliation of GAAP Earnings to Adjusted Earnings                   (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data)                                (Unaudited)                                              Three Months Ended 3/31/08                                              GAAP    Adjustments   Adjusted   Band sales                                $39,500        $-       $39,500   Piano sales                                54,686         -        54,686     Total sales                              94,186         -        94,186    Band cost of sales                         30,975      (432)(1)    30,543   Piano cost of sales                        35,819         -        35,819     Total cost of sales                      66,794      (432)       66,362    Band gross profit                           8,525       432         8,957   Piano gross profit                         18,867         -        18,867     Total gross profit                       27,392       432        27,824    Band GM%                                    21.6%                   22.7%   Piano GM%                                   34.5%                   34.5%     Total GM%                                 29.1%                   29.5%    Operating expenses                         22,588         -        22,588      Income from operations                    4,804       432         5,236    Interest expense, net                       2,157         -         2,157   Other income, net                            (673)      636 (2)       (37)      Income before income taxes                3,320      (204)        3,116    Income tax provision                        1,345       (78)(3)     1,267      Net income                               $1,975     $(126)       $1,849    Earnings per share - basic                  $0.23                   $0.22   Earnings per share - diluted                $0.23                   $0.21   Weighted average common shares - basic      8,579                   8,579   Weighted average common shares - diluted    8,655                   8,655                                                   Three Months Ended 3/31/07                                               GAAP    Adjustments   Adjusted   Band sales                                $40,507        $-       $40,507   Piano sales                                52,925         -        52,925     Total sales                              93,432         -        93,432    Band cost of sales                         32,305         -        32,305   Piano cost of sales                        33,887         -        33,887     Total cost of sales                      66,192         -        66,192    Band gross profit                           8,202         -         8,202   Piano gross profit                         19,038         -        19,038     Total gross profit                       27,240         -        27,240    Band GM%                                    20.2%                   20.2%   Piano GM%                                   36.0%                   36.0%     Total GM%                                 29.2%                   29.2%    Operating expenses                         22,873         -        22,873      Income from operations                    4,367         -         4,367    Interest expense, net                       2,152         -         2,152   Other income, net                            (170)        -          (170)      Income before income taxes                2,385         -         2,385    Income tax provision                          955         -           955      Net income                               $1,430        $-        $1,430    Earnings per share - basic                  $0.17                   $0.17   Earnings per share - diluted                $0.17                   $0.17   Weighted average common shares - basic      8,419                   8,419   Weighted average common shares - diluted    8,580                   8,580     Notes to Reconciliation of GAAP Earnings to Adjusted Earnings   (1) Reflects costs (primarily employee severance) associated with a plant       closure.   (2) Reflects a gain on early extinguishment of debt.   (3) Reflects the tax effect of Adjustments.                        STEINWAY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, INC.                               (In Thousands)                                (Unaudited)     Reconciliation from Cash Flows from Operating Activities to Adjusted                                   EBITDA                                                        Three Months Ended                                                     03/31/2008   03/31/2007   Cash flows from operating activities                 $(2,279)    $(11,992)   Changes in operating assets and liabilities            5,883       15,076   Stock based compensation expense                        (245)        (264)   Income tax provision, net of deferred tax benefit      2,642        2,307   Net interest expense                                   2,157        2,152   Provision for doubtful accounts                         (353)        (126)   Other                                                   (279)         (47)   Non-recurring, infrequent or unusual cash charges        432          -   Adjusted EBITDA                                       $7,958       $7,106                  Reconciliation from Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA                                                        Three Months Ended                                                     03/31/2008   03/31/2007   Net income                                            $1,975       $1,430   Income tax provision                                   1,345          955   Net interest expense                                   2,157        2,152   Depreciation                                           2,487        2,373   Amortization                                             198          196   Non-recurring, infrequent or unusual items              (204)         -   Adjusted EBITDA                                       $7,958       $7,106  

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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