ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (Jan. 25, 2001)—Mail-Well, Inc. (NYSE: MWL) today announced that fourth quarter earnings from operations excluding special charges were $0.20 per share. For the three months and the year ended December 31, 2000, Mail-Well revenues reached $624 million and $2.4 billion, respectively. Operating income before special charges totaled $41 million, which is slightly below results reported for the same period last year and $172 million for the full year, 6% ahead of last year. EBITDA, as expected, reached $64 million and $254 million for the quarter and the year, 12% and 16%, respectively, better than the same periods a year ago. In conjunction with the acquisition of American Business Products, which occurred in the first quarter of 2000, the company has been examining the allocation of the excess of the purchase price over the value of the underlying assets. The result of this examination was to increase the allocation to intangible assets. Had such intangibles been amortized over the 40 years generally used for goodwill, earnings would have been $0.26. Paul Reilly, president and CEO, said that the company would focus on converting top line and EBITDA growth into leverage for bottom line profits. "This is the first year since 1994 we are reporting lower earnings year over year, but we plan to make it the last. There is general uncertainty about the dynamics of the US economy in 2001, but we are looking forward to a soft landing and an environment that would assist in delivering better results for our investors." "Regardless of the business environment, we will react quickly to adjust our business plan," Reilly said. "We have a wide variety of productivity improvements and earnings growth programs under way and are confident the financial results will reflect the benefits of these programs quickly."