PAL Equatorial Palm Oil Plc

RNS Number:7674B
Pall Corporation
30 November 1999


For More Information Contact:
John Adamovich, Pall Corporation
(516) 484-5400

               Pall Corporation Quarter One Earnings up 85%

                  
East Hills, NY (11/30/99) - Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) today reported first
quarter fiscal 2000 earnings results. Earnings for the quarter ended October 30,
1999, were $24,898,000, an increase of 85% compared to last year's $13,461,000.
Earnings per share were 20 cents, an increase of 82% over last year's 11 cents
per share. Prior year per share amounts have been adjusted down by one cent for
a change in accounting principle related to start-up costs.

At its annual shareholders' meeting held earlier this month, Pall Corporation
announced that sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2000 increased 7% to
$267,122,000, compared to sales of $249,850,000 in the prior year.

Eric Krasnoff, Pall's Chairman and CEO, said, 'Pall Corporation announced record
first quarter sales results and our earnings expectations at our annual
shareholders' meeting. We are now pleased to confirm that we have achieved that
dramatic increase in earnings.

There are a number of developments that propelled the earnings uptick this
quarter.
First, sales came in at the high end of our expectations. This was supported by
the recovery of the Microelectronics segment and continued strength of blood
filter sales. The benefits of our restructuring in the third quarter of last
year continue to be seen in these results. Industrial systems margins have also
begun to notch up.

In the quarter, cost of sales improved slightly to 46.7% from 47.0% last year.
We continue to be optimistic that our objective to keep gross margins stable
compared to fiscal 1999 as a percentage of sales will be achieved.

Selling, General and Administrative expenses and R&D costs were the
principal beneficiaries of the restructuring initiated in last year's third
quarter," continued Mr. Krasnoff. "On a comparative basis to last year, S G
& A and R&D were down nearly $5.3 million and represent 39.9% of sales   
compared to 44.8% last year.  Again, we believe that our objective for the
year to reduce these expenses by at least 2% as a percentage of sales will
be achieved.

Part of our restructuring plan involved the consolidation of certain facilities.
The results for the first quarter include a profit of $1.3
million from the sale of a property located in the United Kingdom. The   
effective tax rate for the quarter was 23%, consistent with the underlying
tax rate for fiscal year 1999.

Our backlog has increased in the first quarter to $215 million and is 12%
higher than at this time last year."

Addressing Pall's earnings expectations for the rest of the year, Mr.
Krasnoff said, 'The robust increase in earnings in the first quarter
positions Pall to achieve record profits this fiscal year. The benefits of
our restructuring began in the third quarter of last fiscal year and will
continue to show in the second quarter. Our cost reduction program is very
much alive and contributing to further improvements in our pretax margins.

The growth in earnings in the second half of fiscal 2000 is more likely to
be closer to the rate of sales increase. On this basis, our current
expectation is that earnings per share for the whole year may well increase 30%
from last year's 92 cents (after adjusting for a change in accounting principle
related to start-up costs and before the effects of one-time charges in fiscal
1999)."

             PALL CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
                (Amounts in thousands, except per share data)

                                      FIRST QUARTER ENDED
                                     OCT. 30,     OCT. 31,
                                       1999         1998
     REVENUES
     Net sales                      $267,122      $249,850
     COSTS AND EXPENSES
     Cost of sales                  124,746       117,340 (a)
     Selling, general and
     administrative expenses        94,733         96,887
     Research and development       11,818         14,935
     Interest expense, net           3,490          2,948
     Total costs and expenses       234,787       232,110
     Earnings before
     income taxes                   32,335         17,740
     Provisions for
     income taxes                    7,437          4,279
     Net earnings                   $24,898        13,461
     Earnings per share:
      Basic                         $ 0.20        $  0.11
      Diluted                       $ 0.20           0.11
     Average number of
     shares outstanding:
      Basic                         124,178       124,107
      Diluted                       125,161       124,618

(a) includes $1,567 (1 cent per share) in previously capitalized start-up
costs expensed as a result of adopting a new accounting principle in Q3 FY
1999.


          PALL CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                          (Amounts in thousands)

                                     OCT. 30,   JUL. 31,
                                       1999       1999
     Assets

    Cash and short-term 
    investments                    $110,903   $ 137,177
    Accounts receivable, net        296,868     326,197
    Inventories                     210,252     205,867
    Other current assets             77,509      74,948
     Total current assets           695,532     744,189
    Property, plant and equipment,
    net                             514,333     507,016
    other assets                    235,095     237,122

     Total assets                $1,444,960  $1,488,327

    Liabilities and Stockholders, Equity

    Short-term debt               $ 298,475     339,153
    Accounts payable, income taxes
    and other current liabilities   227,615     219,126

    Total current liabilities       526,090     559,279

    Long-term debt                  102,272     116,815
    Deferred taxes and other
     non-current liabilities         83,821      82,569

    Stockholders', equity            732,777     730,664

     Total liabilities and
     stockholders, equity         $1,444,960  $1,488,327

With annual sales over $1 billion, Pall Corporation is based in East Hills,
New York, USA and operates directly in 30 countries. Pall Corporation
provides innovative solutions to complex filtration and separations
problems in four major markets: BioPharmaceuticals, Medical, Aeropower and
Fluid Processing. The Company's shares are listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (PLL) and the London Stock Exchange (0668260). Further information
about Pall Corporation is available on the Company's Web site at
http://www.pall.com.

This release contains "forward-looking statements"as defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based on current Company expectations and are subject to risks and
uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially. Such
risks and uncertainties include, but am not limited to, foreign currency
exchange fluctuations, regulatory approvals, market acceptance of new
technologies, economic conditions and market demand.


END
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