Concord Camera Corp. Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End Results and New OEM Customer Agreements.

AVENEL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 2, 1997--Concord Camera Corp. ("Concord") (NASDAQ National Market: LENS) today reported financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and year ended June 30, 1997. (See attached tables).

For the quarter ended June 30, 1997, net sales increased 17.5% to $18,615,800 from $15,847,900 in the June 1996 quarter. Concord reported a net (loss) for the June 30, 1997 quarter of ($473,300), or ($.04) per share, substantially less than the (loss) of ($4,238,200), or ($.39) per share for the June 30, 1996 quarter. The loss for the quarter was primarily caused by the continued high cost of product development and engineering of new cameras, the cost of completing agreements with new OEM customers and competitive price pressure in the Company's single use camera business.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1997, net sales decreased 1.5% to $65,747,400 from fiscal 1996 sales of $66,781,900. While sales of conventional 35mm cameras increased from fiscal 1996, primarily due to the introduction of new Crayolar 35mm cameras and shipments of a newly designed 35mm camera to a new OEM customer, sales of single use cameras declined slightly, as a major OEM customer aggressively reduced inventory. The (loss) for the year of ($832,700), or ($.08) per share, was due primarily to high costs associated with development of new products, the costs of completing new OEM agreements and competitive price pressures in the Company's single use camera business. In the prior fiscal year, the (loss) was ($1,734,200), or ($.16) per share.

Gross profit margin in the fourth quarter of 22.5% increased from 20.2% in the third quarter and 5.8% in the fourth quarter of last year. The fourth quarter of the previous fiscal year included provisions for inventory writedowns of approximately $3,035,000 on certain 35mm cameras. Engineering and product development costs associated with new products increased from approximately $529,000 in the fourth quarter of last year to approximately $689,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997. Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997 were $4,546,000 compared to $5,074,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1996, a decline of $528,000 or 10.4%.

Gross profit margin for the full fiscal year of 25.9% declined slightly from 26.2% in the prior fiscal year. Engineering and product development costs associated with new products increased from approximately $1,593,000 in fiscal 1996 to $3,130,000 in fiscal 1997, an increase of $1,537,000 or 96.5%. Operating expenses for fiscal 1997 of $17,741,000 declined $1,403,000 or 7.3% from $19,144,000 for fiscal 1996.

Commenting on the financial results, Ira B. Lampert, Concord's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "In connection with the issuance of third quarter results, I noted that increased costs associated with the introduction of new products during the remainder of the year would likely have a negative impact on margins and profitability. I also noted that while price pressure on single use cameras had intensified, demand for Concord's single use cameras continued to be strong.

"While at that time we did not anticipate a loss for the fourth quarter, we did expect the prevailing conditions to continue at least until fiscal year end. The combination of these conditions together with a delay in the introduction of a new Advanced Photo System camera for an OEM customer, from the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997 to the first quarter of fiscal 1998, led to the loss in the fourth quarter. While management aggressively reduced expenses, these efforts could not offset the increased cost of product development and price pressure on single-use cameras."

New OEM Customer Contracts Announced

Mr. Lampert continued, "In recent weeks we reached an agreement in principle with one of the world's largest film and camera manufacturers, under which Concord will produce for this customer a lower cost Advanced Photo System Camera to be sold and marketed by this customer as one of its branded products. The Company anticipates revenues from the sale of this camera will be approximately $20 million in fiscal 1998. Shipments of this product are expected to begin in September. In addition, the Company has completed an agreement with another of the world's leading specialized film and camera manufacturers for Concord to co-develop and exclusively manufacture specialized, traditional and single use cameras for this customer. The Company does not expect to realize any revenues from this agreement until fiscal 1999, at which time sales to this new customer are expected to be substantial.

"We anticipate sales in fiscal 1998 to be in the $100 million to $110 million range. We also expect the Company to be profitable in fiscal 1998. While many factors outside the control of the Company can affect profitability, our expectation is that net income for fiscal 1998 will be in the range of $5 million to $7 million and the Company should continue to generate positive cash flow."

Concord's Balance Sheet Remains Strong.

Mr. Lampert continued, "Concord completed the fiscal year in a strong financial position. While shareholders' equity declined from $30,478,000 at June 30, 1996, or approximately $2.80 per share to $29,502,00 or approximately $2.71 per share, at June 30, 1997, cash flow from operations increased from $1,022,000 in Fiscal 1996 to $2,798,000 in 1997, reflecting our improved management of operations, assets and liabilities. We are confident that the investments we have made in plant and equipment are sufficient to meet our production needs. We believe the Company is poised for growth." -0- This press release contains forward-looking statements that are identified by the use of words such as "expects," "anticipates" and "believes" and involve numerous risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, expected sales could be adversely affected by production difficulties or economic conditions adversely affecting the market for the Company's products. To obtain the results expected from the introduction of new products, including new OEM products, will require successful ramp-up of full-scale production on a timely basis, consumer acceptance of the products, and the ability to sustain production at greatly increased volume. In addition, there can be no assurance that products under development will be successfully developed, or that once developed, such products will be a commercial success.

Concord Camera Corp. is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of popularly priced, easy-to-use, conventional and single-use 35 millimeter and Advanced Photo System cameras and 110 cartridge cameras, which it manufactures and assembles in the Peoples Republic of China under the trade names CONCORDr, KEYSTONEr, LE CLICr and, for sales outside the United States and Mexico, ARGUSr, as well as private label brands. The Company sells and markets its camera products worldwide through direct sales offices in the United States, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, United Kingdom, France and through independent agents. -0-

                         CONCORD CAMERA CORP.
                 Consolidated Statements of Operations
                              (Unaudited)

                        For the Three Months          For the Year
                            Ended June 30,            Ended June 30,
                           1997      1996           1997        1996

Net sales              $18,615,822 $15,847,926   $65,747,433 $66,781,851
Cost of products sold   14,434,365  14,932,492    48,722,416  49,292,625

Gross profit             4,181,457     915,434    17,025,017  17,489,226

Selling expenses         1,816,560   1,755,703     6,949,600   7,570,658
General and
 administrative
  expenses               2,325,966   2,849,839     9,247,489   9,395,677
Financial expenses         399,756     360,056     1,465,169   1,488,672
Other expense (income),
 net                        32,229        (256)     (122,513)    (29,764)
Legal expenses and
 settlement costs          (28,959)    109,084       200,810     718,359

Loss from operations
 before income taxes      (364,095) (4,158,992)     (715,538) (1,654,376)

Provision for
 income taxes              109,184      79,193       117,124      79,820

Net loss                 ($473,279)($4,238,185)    ($832,662)($1,734,196)

Loss per common and common
  equivalent share          ($0.04)     ($0.39)       ($0.08)     ($0.16)

Weighted average number
 of common and
  common equivalent
   shares outstanding    10,880,473   10,882,973   10,880,473  10,813,224


                         CONCORD CAMERA CORP.
                      Consolidated Balance Sheets

                                                   June 30,
                                              1997         1996
Current assets:

Cash                                      $5,297,820   $4,996,770
Accounts receivable, net                   9,866,962    7,550,408
Inventories                               15,752,402   17,491,615
Prepaid expenses and other current assets  3,091,669    2,540,802
Total current assets                      34,008,853   32,579,595
Plant and equipment, net                  13,865,777   11,708,736
Goodwill, net                              1,089,217    1,510,197
Other assets                               4,124,396    4,051,268
Total assets                             $53,088,243  $49,849,796

Current liabilities:
Short-term debt                           $7,976,315   $6,368,972
Current portion of long-term debt             33,349       29,552
Current obligations under capital leases     790,426      570,899
Accounts payable                           8,665,622    6,000,328
Accrued expenses                           2,232,289    2,172,863
Income taxes payable                           2,831       79,050
Other current liabilities                    313,965      661,735
Total current liabilities                 20,014,797   15,883,399
Deferred income taxes                        572,492      442,889
Long-term debt                               396,570      430,589
Obligations under capital leases           2,000,002    1,948,443
Other long-term liabilities                  602,548      666,791
Total liabilities                         23,586,409   19,372,111

Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, no par value,
 20,000,000 authorized;
  10,944,026 issued as of
   June 30, 1997 and 1996                 39,361,893   39,361,893
Paid in capital                              850,786      850,786
Deficit                                   (7,635,653)  (6,802,992)
Notes receivable arising from
 common stock purchase agreements         (2,622,273)  (2,479,083)
Less: treasury stock, at cost;
 63,553 shares                              (452,919)    (452,919)

Total stockholders' equity                29,501,834   30,477,685
Total liabilities and
 stockholders' equity                    $53,088,243  $49,849,796

CONTACT: Concord Camera Corp.

Barry Shereck, VP & CFO 

[phone]

OR

LENS' INVESTOR RELATIONS COUNSEL:

The Equity Group Inc.

Robert Goldstein, 212/371-8660

Linda Latman, 212/836-9606