Fiberstar Posts Strong Second Quarter Operating Results on Continued Rising International Demand

RIVER FALLS, Wis., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fiberstar, Inc., a global leader in creating innovative bio-ingredients from plant cell wall materials, today reported strong second quarter results on continued rising international demand for its all-natural Citri-Fi® and Imulsi-Fi™ functional ingredients.

"Fiberstar's second quarter performance benefited from a 51 percent increase in international sales, improvements in productivity, and a 10 percent price increase implemented to offset rising energy and manufacturing costs," said Fiberstar's President & CEO, Dale Lindquist.  

Fiberstar, a private company, keeps its actual revenues and earnings confidential, but discloses comparative financial data.

Second quarter revenue was up 34 percent and profit was up 126 percent over last year. YTD revenue was up 36 percent and profit was up 52 percent.

The Company's compound annual growth rates for the three year period ending June 30, 2011, was 29 percent for revenue and 57 percent for profit.

International sales account for 79 percent of revenues. Revenues by region were: Latin America 29 percent, Europe 27 percent, Asia Pacific 23 percent, and North America 21 percent.

"The growing global demand for Fiberstar's products can be attributed to the significant value proposition we offer food manufacturers to improve the textural quality, nutrition, label declaration and cost of the products they manufacture," said Fiberstar's Director of Sales and Marketing, Nick Kovalenko.

For example, Citri-Fi reduces the cost and caloric content of a wide variety of food products through superior moisture management (more uniform moisture distribution and higher yields) and by partial replacement of higher priced ingredients such as dairy fat, vegetable oil, eggs and meat.

"Our customers regularly replace 25 percent to 50 percent of vegetable or animal fat, 15 percent to 25 percent of eggs and up to 20 percent of meat while maintaining the same taste and texture in their finished products," said Kovalenko.

In partial oil replacement, one part of Citri-Fi and seven parts of water are commonly used to replace eight parts of oil resulting in a 30 to 40 percent cost savings of the oil replaced.

In partial egg replacement, one part of Citri-Fi and 13 parts of water are commonly used to replace 14 parts of eggs resulting in a 55 to 60 percent cost savings of the eggs replaced.

Fiberstar's customers include many of the world's largest food manufacturers, which use Citri-Fi in food products such as baked goods, beverages, dairy, fats & oils, frozen foods, processed fruits and vegetables, processed meats, sauces and dressings, and snacks.

"In 2010, we gained our first $1.0 million per year customer. In 2011, we've received projections from three additional customers, each estimating $1.0 million or more of product purchases next year.  Adding these large volume orders to our already mushrooming demand requires Fiberstar to triple its production capacity in 2012," said Lindquist.

Based on feedback from prospective customers, the Company expects global demand for Imulsi-Fi to materialize in 2012 as cosmetic manufacturers begin using Imulsi-Fi to replace chemical emulsifiers, thickeners and stabilizers in both new and reformulated products.

During the recent economically challenging years, Fiberstar has successfully developed broad patent protection, multiple product applications, cost-efficient manufacturing processes, a distribution network covering 65 countries, and a global customer base.

"With the world facing rising food ingredient costs, a global obesity crisis, and consumer demands for food and cosmetic products that contain more natural and less synthetic ingredients, Fiberstar is well positioned to help global food and cosmetic manufacturers bring cost effective solutions to these pressing issues," Lindquist said.

ABOUT FIBERSTAR

Fiberstar, Inc., a privately held company located in River Falls, WI, holds an exclusive worldwide license for platform technologies which it uses to enhance the functionality of citrus pulp, a low-cost byproduct generated by orange juice producers, from which it produces two lines of all-natural, bio-based, multi-functional products, Citri-Fi and Imulsi-Fi.

ABOUT CITRI-FI

Citri-Fi, a high water-binding, all-natural bio-ingredient, is used by food manufacturers to improve the textural quality, nutrition, label declarations and cost of a wide variety of food products. It is represented in 65 countries by Fiberstar's global network of five brokers and 48 distributors. www.citri-fi.com.

ABOUT IMULSI-FI

Imulsi-Fi, another all-natural bio-ingredient, is useful to thicken and stabilize emulsions in a wide variety of cosmetic products such as hair and skin care products and as a replacement for talc or starches in face and body powders. Imulsi-Fi is represented in 17 countries by a global network of one broker and nine distributors. www.imulsi-fi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors

Certain statements in this press release such as the demand for Fiberstar products and expected increases in Fiberstar's revenue growth are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of Fiberstar, Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

SOURCE Fiberstar, Inc.