HACKENSACK, NJ--(Marketwire - Aug 14, 2012) - Emerson Radio Corp. (NYSE MKT: [ MSN ]) today reported financial results for its first quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Net revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were $46.0 million, a decrease of $5.5 million, or 10.7%, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2012 net revenues of $51.5 million. The decline in year-over-year net revenues was driven by a $3.5 million, or 7.5%, decline in net sales of houseware products, which was the result of lower year-over-year sales of all product offerings within the category, and a $1.7 million, or 60.7%, decline in net sales of audio products, due to lower year-over year sales of all product offerings within the category. Licensing revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were $1.1 million, a $0.3 million, or 20.2%, decrease from the $1.4 million of licensing revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the result of lower year-over-year sales by the Company's licensees of branded products under license from the Company and fewer active licensees during the first quarter of fiscal 2013 as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2012.

Operating income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 was $4.4 million, an increase of $0.5 million, or 14.8%, from operating income of $3.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 due to lower year-over-year landed product cost as a percent of selling price. This was, however, partially offset by the lower year-over-year net revenues, the impact of an inventory valuation reserve reduction that occurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 that did not repeat in the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and higher year-over-year SG&A expenses, due primarily to a year-over-year increase in legal fees relating to pending litigation.

Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 was $3.8 million, as compared to $3.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, an increase of $0.5 million, or 15.1%, due to the year-over-year increase in operating income and a lower effective tax rate in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. The lower tax rate is the result of a larger percentage of taxable earnings in the first quarter of fiscal 2013, as compared to the same quarter of fiscal 2012, occurring in tax jurisdictions with lower comparative tax rates, partly offset by a realized gain on the sale of the Company's last remaining auction rate security that occurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 were $0.14, as compared to $0.12 for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, an increase of $0.02 per diluted share, or 16.7%. 

Duncan Hon, Chief Executive Officer of Emerson Radio, commented, "Our first quarter fiscal 2013 revenues declined as compared to the prior year due to the continuing difficult economic conditions in the U.S. and intense competition within our product categories. We expect such market conditions to persist for the foreseeable future. Although higher margins and a lower effective tax rate helped increase our bottom line profitability on a year-over-year basis, we don't anticipate these factors to continue or be indicative of a trend for the full fiscal year."

About Emerson Radio Corp.
Emerson Radio Corp. (NYSE MKT: [ MSN ]), incorporated in 1994, is headquartered in Hackensack, N.J. The Company designs, sources, imports and markets a variety of houseware and consumer electronic products, and licenses its trademarks to others on a worldwide basis for a variety of products. For more information, please visit Emerson Radio's web site at [ www.emersonradio.com ].

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, they give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and you should be aware that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors detailed in the Company's reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this news release.