Cox Technologies Reports Fiscal 1999 First-Quarter Results.

BELMONT, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 1998--Cox Technologies Inc. (OTC BB:COXT) Monday announced the results for its fiscal 1999 first quarter, ended July 31, 1998.

Sales for the quarter were $2,373,000, a 10.7% gain over $2,143,000 reported in the same period a year ago. Net income for the three months was $173,000, or $0.01 a share, compared with $286,000, or $0.02 a share, last year.

"The first quarter was an extremely active and productive period for the company," said Dr. James L. Cox, president and CEO of Cox Technologies. "The sales gain in the period, which continued the growth trend of the past two years, reflected increased acceptance and use of the company's traditional line of time/temperature recorders.

"We also took a major step during the quarter toward positioning Cox Technologies as the world leader in the production and marketing of technologically advanced systems and devices for monitoring the safety of the food supply chain with our acquisition of Vitsab AB, of Sweden."

Vitsab(tm) is a proprietary product that indicates the time/temperature history of foods, as well as their remaining shelf life, through a sequence of color changes. The low-cost, adhesive-backed tag is a new technology whose use can help prevent the growth of food-borne pathogens from the processing plant to the supermarket or restaurant.

Food producers, transportation companies, storage firms, distributors and retailers all can monitor environments for food safety in the most cost-effective manner using Vitsab.

Cox added: "At the present time, several large companies involved in the food supply chain are using Vitsab and performing due diligence evaluations. The company's marketing efforts are currently directed at getting Vitsab into the hands of as many potential customers as possible in order to build a large base of market support.

"As a consequence of marketing and other costs associated with the recently acquired Vitsab operations, which has not yet developed offsetting revenues, first-quarter earnings were below last year's numbers. However, we believe that Vitsab has the potential to ramp-up to revenues sufficient to offset its operating expenses by the first half of calendar 1999."

Cox Technologies develops, manufactures and markets self-contained recording instruments and devices which produce documentary or visual proof of temperature conditions useful for compliance with governmental regulations, monitoring the performance of refrigerated carriers and for claims related to the transport of valuable perishables such as produce, meat, fish, poultry, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, live plants and animal material.

Cox Technologies also produces allied products such as electronic data loggers, digital temperature probes and package monitors for the perishables trade. For further information, contact the company Web site at www.cx-en.com/cox.htm.

Statements in this news release about future results are preliminary and based on partial information and assumptions, and actual results may differ. Except for historical information presented, the matters discussed in this announcement contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the development and growth of markets targeted by Cox Technologies Inc., the acceptance of time/temperature monitoring recorders by customers, the impact of competition, government regulations, general economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of the most recent forms 10K and 10Q of Cox Technologies are available upon request from its corporate office.