Increase in men's belt shipments at Swank

John Tulin, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of SWANK INC reported financial results for the Company's fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2009. Net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009 was $1,266,000 or $.22 per diluted share compared to net income of $2,576,000 or $.44 per diluted share for the corresponding quarter in 2008. For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2009, net income was $1,778,000 or $.31per diluted share compared to $2,090,000 or $.35 per diluted share last year. Net sales for the quarter increased 2.5% to $35,687,000 and, for the twelve-month period, increased .7% to $114,798,000, in both cases as compared to the corresponding periods in 2008. Net income for both the quarter and twelve-month periods in 2008 reflect a $2,000,000 gain recorded during last year's fourth quarter associated with the settlement of a coverage dispute with one of the Company's insurance companies. Excluding last year's insurance settlement, income before taxes for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 was $2,784,000 compared to $2,245,000 for the comparable prior year, and for the year ended December 31, 2009 income before taxes was $3,633,000 compared to $1,466,000 for the year ended December 31, 2008. Income before taxes for the quarter ended December 31, 2008 including the insurance settlement was $4,245,000 and for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008 including the effects of the settlement was $3,466,000. Commenting on the results for the quarter and twelve-month periods, Mr. Tulin said, "We are very pleased with our results this year. It is important to note that our income before taxes more than doubled to $3,633,000 in 2009 compared to $1,466,000 in 2008 excluding last year's insurance settlement." "Despite the challenges of a very difficult economy, our net sales increased for both the quarter and year with corresponding increases in our income before taxes for the twelve-month period as well as for the quarter, exclusive of the insurance settlement. We ended fiscal 2009 with a very strong balance sheet and no borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by an anticipated strengthening of the US economy later this year." Net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009 was $1,266,000 or $.22 per diluted share compared to net income of $2,576,000 or $.44 per diluted share for the corresponding quarter in 2008. Income before taxes for the fourth quarter was $2,784,000 compared to $4,245,000 for the same period in 2008 or $2,245,000 exclusive of the insurance settlement. The decrease in net income during the quarter was also due to a higher effective tax rate in 2009 compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. Net sales during the quarter increased 2.5% to $35,687,000 compared to $34,809,000 for the corresponding period in 2008. The increase during the quarter was principally due to higher gross shipments of our men's belt merchandise offset in part by an increase in allowances for anticipated customer returns. The increase in men's belt shipments during the quarter was mostly due to sales of certain private brand merchandise to major chain store accounts.