IDEX Reports Record 2000 Results; Stronger Year Expected in 2001

17.01.2001

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEX Corporation (NYSE: IEX),

today reported record orders, sales, net income, earnings per share and cash

flow for the year ended December 31, 2000.

Recent Highlights

  • Sales increased 8 percent to $704.3 million, reflecting 6 percent

    growth in the base business, 5 percent from acquisitions, and a

    negative 3 percent currency translation.

  • Net income rose 17 percent to $63.4 million, or $2.07 per diluted

    share.

  • Six Sigma training and global sourcing efforts progressing well, with

    positive impact expected to start in third quarter of 2001.

  • Two strategic acquisitions with combined annual sales of $75 million

    completed in January 2001.

  • With reasonable economic conditions in the U.S., record results are

    expected again in 2001.

Record Orders, Sales and Earnings Anticipated for 2001

Looking ahead to the first quarter, Dennis K. Williams, chairman, president

and chief executive officer, said, "We believe our sales

and earnings will be higher than in the quarter we just completed. However,

we expect that diluted earnings per share could be about 10 percent lower than

the 52 cents earned in the first quarter of 2000. IDEX operates with a very

small backlog of unfilled orders, and our performance will depend upon the

strength of the U.S. and key foreign economies.

"We continue to believe IDEX is well positioned for the future, with

diversity in products and markets served and leading positions in its niches.

We think the company will benefit from its emphasis on profitable growth, the

margin improvement initiatives of Six Sigma and global sourcing, the use of

strong cash flow to cut debt and interest expense, our recently announced

acquisitions, and the continuing pursuit of additional acquisitions. While it

is likely that 2001 will get off to a slow start, with reasonable economic

conditions in the U.S. economy, we would expect to have record performance

again for the full year," Williams concluded.

Conference Call to be Broadcast Over the Internet

IDEX will broadcast its year-end conference call over the Internet on

Tuesday, January 16, at 1:30 p.m. CST. Chairman, President and Chief Executive

Officer Dennis K. Williams, and Senior Vice President-Finance and Chief

Financial Officer Wayne P. Sayatovic will discuss the company's recent

financial performance and respond to questions from the financial analyst

community.

IDEX invites interested investors to listen to the presentation, which

will be carried live via http://www.streetfusion.com and from a link on IDEX's

website at

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