HUNTINGTON, W.Va., May 24 - Champion Industries, Inc. today announced net income of $751,000 or $0.08 per share for the three months ended April 30, 2002 compared to $938,000 or $0.10 per share for the same period in 2001. Net income for the six months ended April 30, 2002 was $1,008,000 or $0.10 per share compared to $1,217,000 or $0.13 per share for the same period in 2001. The prior year's income includes an after-tax gain of approximately $240,000 resulting from a strategic alliance with Xpedx. The Company's balance sheet reflected interest bearing debt to equity at 17.0 percent, book value per share of $4.39 and total shareholders equity of $42.6 million at April 30, 2002. The Board of Directors announced the declaration of the Company's quarterly dividend of five cents per share. The cash dividend will be paid on June 24, 2002, to shareholders of record on June 7, 2002. Marshall T. Reynolds, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Champion, said, "The second quarter of fiscal 2002 continued to be challenging, primarily due to an overall weakened economy in many of the geographic regions served by our Company. However, we did see a slight improvement in operating income compared with the second quarter of 2001 which reflects cost savings initiatives implemented in the prior year and related reductions in goodwill charges. We continue to aggressively review all of our operating methods and seek additional cost reduction initiatives in all divisions of our business. Additionally, we are aware of the need to identify opportunities to expand our market share and are seeking customer focused initiatives to achieve this growth objective. The end result of our underlying goal is to seek opportunities to enhance shareholder value through all means available." Revenues for the three months ended April 30, 2002 were $30.7 million compared to $30.8 million in the same period in 2001. This change represented a decrease in revenues of $103,000 or 0.3%. Revenues for the six months ended April 30, 2002 decreased to $60.5 million from $62.7 million in 2001. This change represented a decrease in revenues of $2.2 million or 3.6%. The printing segment experienced a sales decrease of $1.6 million or 3.2% while the office products and office furniture segment experienced a decrease of $672,000 or 4.9%. Kirby J. Taylor, president and chief operating officer, noted, "Our top line decreases occurred primarily in the first quarter of 2002 with revenues being down only slightly in the second quarter of 2002. I am encouraged by our reduction in SG&A expenses for both the second quarter and the first six months of 2002 and I believe that our operating plans are beginning to take hold." Mr. Taylor concluded, "As we enter the second half of 2002 our management team will focus on growing our core sales and finalizing our profitability enhancement plan."