NORTH CHELMSFORD, Mass., Jan. 18, 2001-- Courier Corporation (Nasdaq: CRRC), a leading book manufacturer and specialized publisher, today announced that for the first quarter of fiscal 2001, ended December 30, 2000, net income increased 36% to $3.0 million, or $.86 per diluted share, compared with $2.2 million, or $.65 per diluted share, for the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter rose 18% to $53.3 million from $45.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2000. Results included contributions from Dover Publications, Inc., a publishing house Courier acquired September 22, 2000 (see specialized publishing segment results below), as well as an after-tax gain of $0.55 million, or $.16 per diluted share, from the sale of real estate. Excluding the real estate sale, Courier's earnings were $.70 per diluted share, a gain of 8% for the quarter. The largest contributor to sales growth in the quarter, said James F. Conway III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, was Dover Publications, which added $8.6 million in sales, and $0.2 million in net income, or $.05 per diluted share, after goodwill amortization and interest expense. "In addition to integrating Dover into Courier operations, we have been focused on building an infrastructure that will support higher sales growth through all channels, including a soon-to-be-launched Dover e-commerce site," Conway said. "We are excited by the rapidly growing number of Dover customers who have already registered at the site (www.doverpublications.com) to receive updates from Dover."