SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn.—Gerber Scientific (NYSE:GRB) reported net income for the quarter ended July 31, 2008 of $0.7 million on revenue of $158.9 million, compared with net income of $2.8 million on revenue of $153.7 million for the year-ago quarter. A net decline in the exchange rates of the U.S. dollar to other currencies had the effect of increasing revenue by approximately $11.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 as compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2008, according to Gerber Scientific.

Net income for the prior year first quarter ended July 31, 2007 included a non-operating pre-tax gain of $1.0 million, related to the sale of a product line within the company’s Gerber Coburn ophthalmic lens processing unit. Gerber Coburn’s first-quarter revenue was $15.5 million versus $18.3 million in first-quarter 2007; operating income for the first quarter was $0.1 million versus $1.4 million year-ago.

Gerber Scientific president and chief executive officer, Marc T. Giles, commented, “We reported an overall increase in revenue of 3.4 percent from the comparable quarter of the prior year; however, excluding the top-line benefits provided by favorable foreign currency exchange rates, our revenue declined 3.9 percent…This was a challenging quarter for the company. We decided to act quickly and aggressively in response to the current market softness and as a result have already taken actions, including the previously announced workforce reductions in early August 2008, in order to position us to continuously improve our operating margins. Although the current global economic outlook continues to be uncertain, we anticipate that the success of new products and the cost reduction initiatives taken will allow us to deliver sustainable earnings growth in fiscal year 2009.”