LightPath Technologies, Inc. reports sharp revenue increase for quarter ended March 31, 1997.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1997--

-- Revenues Increased 350% to $380,959, as Licensing and Product

Development Fees and GRADIUM(TM) Lens Sales Climbed --

LightPath Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPTHA/LPTHU), producer of patented GRADIUM(TM) glass products for high-performance industrial, telecommunications, computer network, optical storage, medical and consumer applications, today reported revenue of $380,959 for its third fiscal quarter ended March 31, 1997, a 350% increase over the $84,472 reported for the comparable period last year.

Net loss for the 1997 quarter narrowed to $651,105 from $693,086 during the year-earlier period.

Revenues for the nine months ended March 31, 1997 were $532,593, compared with $169,066 for the nine-months ended March 31, 1996. Net loss for the nine months increased to $2,341,355 from $2,286,609, reflecting increases in selling, administrative and research and development costs.

Increased revenue during the most recent quarter was attributable, in part, to $244,000 in license and product development fees and $53,000 in sales of GRADIUM lenses. The largest fee was for the final, pre-production phase of a contract under which LightPath developed GRADIUM lenses for a major medical endoscope manufacturer. LightPath anticipates that it will begin selling GRADIUM lens blanks to that manufacturer during the subsequent quarter, and receive royalty fees from sales of all endoscopes containing GRADIUM lenses. LightPath also received a $25,000 fee from a major optical company for an option to use GRADIUM in a new generation of television camera lenses.

"The advantages of GRADIUM lenses -- greater focusing power, smaller 'spot size,' and the fact that the technology enables monolithic, rugged lens systems -- are now being recognized by our target markets," said Leslie A. Danziger, Chairman of LightPath. "We are continuing to witness a multi-step sales cycle. New customers are first purchasing one or two lenses for testing, then after a period of several months, larger orders often occur." Increased sales of GRADIUM lenses during the quarter, to 30 customers, were attributable, in part, to inroads into the industrial laser and wafer chip inspection equipment markets.

LightPath also received $75,000 during the quarter from government-funded subcontracts for GRADIUM-based solar energy applications.

LightPath added during the last quarter manufacturers representatives and distributors in Silicon Valley, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and Israel. LightPath also entered into a strategic alliance with Hikari Glass Co., Ltd. of Japan, which is 40% owned by Nikon, to increase the presence of GRADIUM glass in Hikari's established Asian optics markets.

GRADIUM glass, an optical quality glass with internal light-bending properties, reduces optical aberrations typical in lenses made of conventional glass. GRADIUM lenses streamline the functions performed by conventional lens systems. LightPath has 11 patents, and several more pending, on the process to make GRADIUM glass.

LightPath units, comprised of common stock and warrants, trade under the Nasdaq stock symbol LPTHU. LightPath common stock trades under the Nasdaq stock symbol LPTHA.

CONTACT: Frank Sommerfield Communications, Inc.

212/255-8386

[e-mail]

LightPath Web site: http://www.light.net