BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Tektronix, Inc. (NYSE: TEK - News) today reported net sales of $201.4 million and net earnings from continuing operations of $11.4 million or $0.13 per share, for the first quarter ended August 30, 2003. This compares with net sales of $198.5 million and net earnings from continuing operations of $21.5 million or $0.24 per share, for the same period a year ago. Excluding business realignment and one-time items, net earnings from continuing operations were $15.7 million or $0.18 per share for the first quarter, as compared with $15.2 million or $0.17 per share for the same period last year.

"We are particularly pleased with our operating results compared to last year, which had the benefit of an extra week and a significant tax credit," said Rick Wills, Tektronix Chairman and CEO. "We saw orders growth of 11% driven by several large orders and continued stability in our base business. Also, we improved gross margins and continued to manage expenses, both of which contributed to strong operating results."

"We saw good customer response to products as well as strength in key geographic regions, most notably in Japan. Demand was high for our mobile protocol testing tools, our industry-leading logic analyzers and our video test products that support the advancement of digital and high-definition signals," continued Wills. "While we are certainly encouraged about our performance this quarter and are seeing some strength in the mobile and government sectors, we are still cautious about the timing and slope of a broad-based recovery."

For the second quarter of fiscal 2004, the company expects sales to be approximately $205 - $210 million. Earnings per share from continuing operations are expected to be between $0.14 and $0.16, excluding business realignment and one-time charges of $10 - $15 million.

"While we can't call a recovery yet, we are well positioned with a strong product pipeline and continued investment in developing the advanced technologies to meet the future roadmaps of our customers. We continue to focus on strengthening our market position in our four core markets and on developing our position in two key new product markets. Additionally, we have built leverage into our business model which should allow us to grow earnings faster than revenues as we see growth," concluded Wills.

Tektronix Inc.