Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2008 were $2.2 million, down $1.2 million, or 31.6% from $3.3 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2007. Operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $557,000 compared to operating income of $6,000 for the fourth quarter of 2007. Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $672,000, or $0.03 per share, compared to net loss of $28,000, or $0.00 per share reported for the fourth quarter of 2007.
ABMC chief executive officer, Stan Cipkowski, stated, “Sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 suffered greatly, especially in December of 2008, as a result of the overall condition of the global economy. More specifically, sales in our national account division, which sells primarily to the workplace market and historically sees year over year growth, declined as new and existing employment levels continued to be negatively impacted. In addition, budget cuts and price pressure continue to negatively affect our government sales division. On a brighter note, we have continued to see growth in sales outside of the United States, especially in Latin America.”
Cipkowski added, “Our cost cutting initiatives implemented in 2008 did enable us to achieve improvement in earnings in 2008 even with the sharp decline in sales, and we continue to look very closely at any and all areas in which we can be more efficient and cost effective.”