SPRINGDALE, Ark., March 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:AERT) announced today that net sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 were $59.3 million, down from $69.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2011 were $8.8 million, down $5.2 million from $14.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. $4.6 million of the fourth quarter reduction was due to an accrual for the refresh of inventory at Lowe's. When the net sales for the year and the fourth quarter are adjusted for the $4.6 million sales reversal, the annual and quarter net sales become $63.9 million and $13.4 million respectively.
The inventory refresh entails replacing the existing ChoiceDek® deck boards at Lowe's 1,700 stores with the new ChoiceDek® Foundations™ which is the fourth product introduction since the decking program with Lowe's commenced in 1998. The new ChoiceDek® Foundations™ is being launched in all Lowe's stores for the 2012 deck building season.
Our MoistureShield® line continued its sales growth as professional installers see this product as providing superior value to other competitive options. The MoistureShield® growth was offset by lower sales of ChoiceDek® as inventories in the retail pipeline were reduced and an accrual was made for returns in connection with the inventory refresh at Lowe's.
AERT's net loss for 2011 was $8.0 million, or $0.10 per share, as compared to the 2010 net loss of $5.9 million, or $0.12 per share. Before the accrual for all costs associated with the Lowe's inventory refresh the net loss for 2011 was $3.4 million, an improvement of $2.5 million from 2010.
AERT continues to refine its advanced recycling operations in Watts, Oklahoma to provide a hedge against rising plastic feedstock costs. Progress has been made at our new facility as we continue to innovate in plastic recycling, positioning ourselves for sales of recycled plastic to other manufacturers as well as improving the consistency of the plastic being used for our decking.
The Company released its fourth quarter earnings and 2011 Form 10-K on Friday, March 30, 2012 and will host a conference call and webcast on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, beginning at 11:00 am (EDT), 10:00 am (CDT) to discuss the results. Listeners may participate in a question and answer session toward the end of the webcast by calling (877) 561-2747. To listen via internet visit http://aert.com/ir/webcasts.aspx .
About Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc.
Since 1989, AERT (OTCBB:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=aert">AERT) has pioneered the use of recycled polyethylene plastic in the manufacture of composite building materials. With its constantly evolving portfolio of patented and proprietary recycling technologies, AERT has been widely recognized as a leader in resource conservation innovation and received the EPA Award for Environmental Excellence for its process of converting scrap plastic to composite outdoor decking. The company recently received an ESGR Patriot Award for its support of our Guard and Reserve Units in the U. S. Armed Forces. AERT converts reclaimed plastic and wood fiber waste into quality outdoor decking systems, fence systems, and door and window components. The Company is the exclusive manufacturer of ChoiceDek® decking, which is available in multiple colors and is sold in Lowe's Home Improvement stores nationwide. See http://www.choicedek.com/">http://www.choicedek.com for more information. AERT's MoistureShield® decking program is expanding and products are now available throughout the U.S. See http://www.moistureshield.com/">http://www.moistureshield.com for product information or to find a regional distributor or dealer. AERT operates manufacturing facilities in Springdale and Lowell, Arkansas and recently commenced operations at its Green Age recycling facility in Watts, Oklahoma. Investors can access real-time stock quotes and information at http://www.otcmarkets.com. For more information on the Company, visit http://www.aertinc.com/">http://www.aertinc.com. Sign up to receive investor information, including press releases, via email by visiting http://aert.com/ir/PressReleaseOptIn.aspx.
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Certain statements in this news release regarding projected results of operations, or, projected results of financial plans or future strategies and initiatives, including, but not limited to, projections of revenue, projections of profitability, any and all future expectation, and plans for future activities may and should be regarded as ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements involve, among other things, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause AERT, Inc.'s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. AERT currently is considering, but may or may not in the future implement any or all of the items and issues listed in any planned budget or strategic initiative, due to, among other things, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.
AERT, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, change in strategy, or otherwise. The above-mentioned listing of risks and uncertainties is not inclusive. For a more detailed discussion of some, but not all, of the risks and uncertainties that may affect AERT, Inc., see AERT, Inc.'s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.