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Press Releases
May 19, 2004
May 19, 2004 – Westport, Conn. - IWT Tesoro Corporation (OTC:IWTT.OB), an importer and value-added distributor of ceramic, porcelain and natural stone floor and wall covering through one of its operating subsidiaries, announced first quarter revenue for 2004 of $9.6 million, an increase of $2.8 million over the first quarter of last year, representing an increase of more than 42%.
The increase is primarily attributable to the growth in operating subsidiary International Wholesale Tile Inc.’s International Collection brand of factory-direct and truckload tile sales to dealers who stock material. Revenues for the three months ending March 31, 2004 also exceeded the quarter ended December 31, 2003 by 12%.
The Company’s pre-tax loss improved to $133,000 for the first quarter ending March 31, 2004 from a loss of $419,000 for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2003. This represents an improvement of 68%. The improvement is partially attributable to the Company’s realization of benefits from the distribution of new marketing and merchandising materials for each of its brands, as well as the addition of staff for the company’s truckload and factory-direct program.
“The results of the most recent quarter show the potential of our growth strategy, which is to expand our reach outside of the southeastern United States through a coordinated effort to other wholesale distributors,” said Henry J. Boucher, Jr., president and CEO of IWT Tesoro Corporation. “Our goal is to extend the business model of International Wholesale Tile across the country. The United States market for hard flooring and wall covering products continues to grow rapidly in both the remodeling and new construction arenas and we plan to take advantage of this demand.”
The Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2004 is available on the Web: www.iwttesoro.com.
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