Ceradyne, Inc. Ranked First by Business 2.0; Among 100 Fastest-Growing Technology Companies in U.S.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Ceradyne, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDN) ranked first in Business 2.0's 100 fastest-growing technology companies in the United States.

Business 2.0, a monthly magazine about business, technology, and innovation, is published by the FORTUNE Group at Time Inc., an AOL Time Warner company.

Out of 2,000 publicly traded technology companies, the list was narrowed to companies that were trading for at least three years, produced at least $50 million in annual revenue, and generated positive cash flow during the most recently reported 12 months.

To rank the top 100 companies, Zacks Investment Research of Chicago utilized four financial criteria: revenue growth, profits, and operating cash flow during the past three years; and twelve-month stock market return as of March 31, 2005. Cash flow accounted for 40 percent of a company's ranking, with the other three criteria counting for 20 percent each.

Joel Moskowitz, Ceradyne chief executive officer, commented: "We are very pleased with this ranking, because it recognizes the Company's longer term financial strength and how the investment markets value consistent growth. Furthermore, based on rising demand for high-performance materials and growing demand for Ceradyne's diverse line of advanced ceramics products, we expect to see further revenue and profit growth in periods ahead."

Ceradyne develops, manufactures and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive/diesel and commercial applications. Additional information can be found at the Company's web site: www.ceradyne.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Ceradyne that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "expects," "intends," "future," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.