Cameron Ashley Reports Fiscal 2000 First Quarter Results.

Business Editors

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2000

Cameron Ashley Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:CAB) today reported results for the first quarter ended January 31, 2000.

Net sales for the first quarter increased 14.5% to $255.8 million from $223.4 million in the prior year period. During the quarter, same-store sales grew 6.8% overall, with 6.4% in the Cameron division, and 9.0% at the Ashley division.

The Company reported a net loss of $1.2 million, or $(0.14) per share on a diluted basis. The first quarter results included $567,000 of operating expenses associated with the software/systems development and business process re-engineering project in the Cameron Division. For the first quarter of fiscal 1999, the Company reported a net loss of $43,000, or $0.00 per share on a diluted basis, which included $339,000 of systems development and re-engineering operating expenses, in addition $195,000 of expenses associated with the withdrawal of the 1998 stock offering.

Ronald R. Ross, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: &uot;We are satisfied with our financial performance this quarter, which was in line with our operating plan for the year. Sales were quite strong across the Company despite inclement weather conditions along the East Coast late in the quarter, which caused the temporary closing of several branches. We are particularly pleased by the performance of the Ashley division and the continuing momentum in same store sales growth despite comparisons against very favorable weather conditions last year. With the typical seasonal slow-down experienced in our Northern U.S. and Canadian businesses, we were pleased to be able to post same store sales of 6.5% in the Cameron U.S. division and 5.4% in the Canadian operations.&uot;

Mr. Ross continued: &uot;While we are pleased by our overall sales growth, operating expenses, as expected, continued to run at higher than normal levels as we near the end of the implementation of our new management information system. As we have mentioned before, during the weeks and in some cases months following initial implementation at a branch, we incur higher than normal expenses associated with the inefficiencies and lack of familiarity with the new system. We implemented the system in some of our larger branches this quarter, so the impact was not unexpected. In addition, our Field Marketing subsidiary's operating results were much lower than expected due to unanticipated delays in its Home Center division reset schedule, which resulted in a fall off in revenues without a corresponding reduction in expense levels. We have addressed these issues, and expect to begin seeing improved results as the impact of several new merchandising contracts kick in.&uot;

Additionally, Cameron Ashley reported that it has delayed the mailing of its annual report to shareholders. The annual report will be mailed to shareholders in conjunction with the proxy statement for the annual meeting. The annual meeting has been delayed until such time as the Special Committee of the Board of Directors completes its evaluation of the pending proposals to acquire Cameron Ashley and authorizes the filing of a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for review. Once that process is under way, the record date and annual meeting date will be set. The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 1999 has been filed with the SEC.

Cameron Ashley Building Products, Inc. is a distributor of a broad line of building products that are used principally in home improvement, remodeling and repair work and in new residential construction. The Company distributes its products to independent building material dealers, professional builders, large contractors and mass merchandisers through a network of more than 160 branches located throughout the United States and Canada. Product lines include roofing, millwork, pool and patio enclosure materials, insulation, siding, steel products, industrial metals and a variety of other building materials.

Certain statements in this release are &uot;forward-looking statements&uot; that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be indicated by phrases such as &uot;believes&uot;, &uot;anticipates&uot;, &uot;expects&uot;, &uot;intends&uot;, &uot;foresees&uot;, &uot;projects&uot;, &uot;predicts&uot;, &uot;forecasts&uot; or similar words and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Among the key factors that could cause results to differ materially are: (i) business and economic conditions in North America, (ii) business and economic conditions in the regional markets in which the Company operates, (iii) adverse homebuilding conditions including those related to weather and interest rates, (iv) the ability to make acquisitions at reasonable prices and achieve operating efficiencies upon integration, (v) reliable and cost-effective supply of products from manufacturers, and (vi) technology risks in implementing new existing information systems. These risks are more fully described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligations to update the information contained herein, which speaks only as of this date.

Note:

More information on Cameron Ashley Building Products can be found on the Wide World Web at http://www.cabp.com.

                 CAMERON ASHLEY BUILDING PRODUCTS, INC.
      (Unaudited.  Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts.)

                   CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

                                For the Three Months
                                      Ended
                               1/31/00     1/31/99
                               -------     -------

   NET SALES                  $255,789    $223,417
   COST OF SALES               205,912     178,677
                               -------     -------
   GROSS PROFIT                 49,877      44,740
   OPERATING EXPENSES           44,388      38,993
   RE-ENGINEERING SYSTEM
   &CONVERSION COSTS              567         339
                               -------     -------
   EBITDA                        4,922       5,408
   DEPRECIATION &AMORTIZATION   3,692       2,835
                               -------     -------
   INCOME FROM OPERATIONS        1,230       2,573
   INTEREST EXPENSE              3,225       2,582
   MINORITY INTEREST              (415)          0
                               -------     -------
   INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES   (1,580)         (9)
   PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES     (376)         34
   CONSOLIDATED NET INCOME     $(1,204)    $   (43)
                               -------     -------
   NET INCOME PER SHARE
    FROM OPERATIONS
      BASIC                    $ (0.14)    $ (0.00)
                               =======     =======
      ASSUMING DILUTION        $ (0.14)    $ (0.00)
                               =======     =======
   WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES
   OUTSTANDING:
      BASIC                      8,695       8,646
                               =======     =======
      ASSUMING DILUTION          8,695       8,646
                               =======     =======


                          BALANCE SHEET DATA

                                 JANUARY 31,  OCTOBER 31,
                                     2000        1999
                                 (Unaudited)   (Audited)

CURRENT ASSETS                   $  280,665   $ 303,730
TOTAL ASSETS                        412,335     435,596
CURRENT LIABILITIES                 111,854     140,432
LONG-TERM DEBT                      161,785     155,224
TOTAL LIABILITIES                   280,003     302,574
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY                132,332     133,022