WATERTOWN, Conn., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Responding to press reports erroneously linking the closing of a water bottling facility in Randolph, Vermont to Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. , Peter Baker, President and CEO, said, "We at Vermont Pure and Crystal Rock are aware of the recent plant closing in Randolph, but we sold that plant, along with our small bottle retail business, in March 2004."
"The buyer of the Randolph facility was a company called Micropack," Mr. Baker continued, "and more recently we understand the plant was owned by companies called Clearsource and Trident."
"As a result, the only connection we had to the Randolph facility and its springs was as a customer. We licensed the Vermont Pure name to Micropack and bought a small amount of our water in retail-sized bottles from Micropack and its successors. But since 2004, virtually all of our business has been in the Home and Office markets to which we supply water primarily in 3- and 5- gallon bottles."
"Since we currently can not get product from the bottling facility in Randolph, we have secured an alternative bottler for that small piece of our business," Mr. Baker continued.
Mr. Baker added, "As Crystal Rock LLC, the operating company for Vermont Pure, we've been in business continuously since 1914, providing premier customer service throughout the Northeast. We employ about 350 people and we are profitable. We look forward to continuing to exceed our customers' expectations now and in the future."
A fact sheet is attached to this press release.
Note: This press release contains forward looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward looking statements, including integration of acquisitions, ability to sustain and manage growth, changing market conditions, and other risks detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
FACT SHEET Vermont Pure
Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. is the largest independent and third largest Home and Office distributor of its kind in the United States. The Company bottles and distributes natural spring water and purified bottled water under the Crystal Rock(R) and the Vermont Pure(R) trademarks through its wholly owned subsidiary Crystal Rock LLC. It markets its bottled water brands, as well as coffee and other home and office refreshment products, to customers throughout New England and New York. Vermont Pure is a public company traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol: VPS.
Facilities
Crystal Rock currently sells approximately 94% of its bottled water in 3- and 5-gallon containers bottled primarily in company owned facilities in Watertown, CT, White River Junction, VT and Halfmoon, NY.
Sale of Randolph Facility and Associated Retail-Sized Bottle Business
On March 1, 2004, Vermont Pure sold a segment of its business that bottled and sold water in retail-sized packages, including a bottling facility and springs in Randolph, VT, to Micropack Corporation. We believe that ownership in the facility subsequently transferred to companies known as Clearsource and Trident.
We Have No Relationship to Micropack and Its Successors Except As Follows: -- We were a customer of the Randolph facility purchasing bottled water, primarily under the Vermont Pure Springs brand name, in retail sizes to resell to our own customers. Sales of these products represent less than 3% of our total annual sales. -- In connection with the sale to Micropack, part of the purchase price owed to us was in the form of a note to us from Micropack and its successors. More information about this note can be found on the Report on Form 8-K that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 5, 2008, and previous filings. -- We licensed some of our trademarks to the owner of the Randolph bottling facility so that water could be bottled there under the Vermont Pure Springs brand name for sale to Crystal Rock and various third-party distributors. Vermont Pure's Recent Financial Results Are Profitable
In the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007, Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. had sales of $65 million and net income of $2.1 million, or $.10 per share. For the quarter ended January 31, 2008, the most recently disclosed quarter, we had sales of $16.4 million and net income of $512,000, or $.02 per share. We invest profit back into our business including, in the current fiscal year, expenditures for solar energy in our Watertown, CT facility and a substantially newer, more fuel efficient truck fleet.
Vermont Pure and Crystal Rock Outlook
We employ approximately 350 people throughout New England and New York, and we have no current plans to change that employment level. We expect to continue to serve our customers, uninterrupted, as we have since 1914.
