Ceradyne, Inc. recently reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004. Sales for the first quarter of 2004 increased 91.3% to a record $36.7 million, from $19.2 million in the first quarter of 2003. Net income increased 231.5% to a record $5.0 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, from $1.5 million, or 11 cents per diluted share, for the year-ago quarter. Fully diluted average shares outstanding for the first quarter of 2004 were 16,295,000 compared to 13,383,000 in the same period in 2003. Average shares outstanding were higher in the first quarter of 2004 compared to the corresponding prior year period due to the follow-on public offering completed in July 2003. The number of shares outstanding and earnings per share have been adjusted to reflect the three-for-two stock split effective on April 7, 2004. Gross profit margin increased to 31.8% of net sales in the first quarter of 2004 vs. 25.6% of net sales in the first quarter of 2003.

A recent conference call regarding these results is archived at http://www.ceradyne.com and http://www.FullDisclosure.com.