Nanophase Reports 4th Quarter and Year End 2009 Financial Results

Operating efficiencies and teamwork improve the bottom line.

Romeoville, IL, - March 25, 2010 - Nanophase Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: NANX), a technology leader in nanomaterials and advanced nanoengineered products, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.   

-     Revenue for the quarter was $1.6 million and was slightly higher than    management’s guidance. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $2.1 million. 

-  Revenue for the year was $6.3 million, compared to revenue of $10.2 million for the same period in 2008.

 
2009 Q4 Financial Results

Looking Ahead to 2010

Nanophase made history on January 27, 2010, with the introduction of its first non-additive product line, NanoUltra™, an architectural glass cleaning and polishing product targeting the end user market. “The launch of the NanoUltra™ product line fits nicely into our business strategy of identifying an industry’s unmet needs and taking the solution directly to the end users in that industry.  I cannot think of a better way to begin the New Year,” commented Nanophase CEO Jess Jankowski.

-  A new product line, NanoUltra™, that targets a portion of the $600 million professional exterior glass cleaning market and is the proving ground for a much larger consumer market

-  A solid base of business with BASF in personal care and in electronics polishing

-  A growing pipeline of strategic customers for our additives used in the $2 billion Coatings Industry

-  Robust development and application testing of product solutions for customers with unmet needs in our top tier markets

-  A cohesive management team that thinks entrepreneurially

“We are seeing improvement in certain aspects of the economy, but customers remain cautious and we will continue with our conservative approach into 2010,” continued Jankowski. “Market opportunities, with lead-times ranging from one to several years, were abundant in 2009, and we are seeing considerable interest in our innovative products as our pipeline continues to expand. We believe that our market partners will continue to provide a significant portion of our revenues during 2010, but we will begin to generate revenue from our NanoUltra™ product family and our coating products, which historically have long testing cycles. We see the first quarter of 2010 as likely to realize more revenue than any quarter of 2009.”

Nanophase has scheduled its quarterly conference call for March 25, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. CDT (5:00 p.m. EDT). The call will be hosted by Jess Jankowski, president and CEO. To participate in the conference call, dial 877.312.8776, or 408.774.4007 for our international callers; the conference call identification is 61366966.  The call may also be accessed through the company’s website, at www.nanophase.com, by clicking on the link under NewsCenter and Calendar of Events to listen to a webcast of the event.

Nanophase believes that the presentation of results excluding certain items, including severance charges and non-cash equity compensation charges, provides meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors, facilitating the evaluation of performance across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP measures for internal planning and reporting purposes. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, generally accepted accounting principles and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or net income per share prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Nanophase Technologies Corporation (NANX), www.nanophase.com, is a leader in nanomaterials technologies and provides nanoengineered solutions for multiple industrial product applications. Using a platform of patented and proprietary integrated nanomaterial technologies, the Company creates products with unique performance attributes from two ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 facilities. Nanophase delivers commercial quantity and quality nanoparticles, coated nanoparticles, and nanoparticle dispersions in a variety of media. 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains words such as “expects,” ”shall,” “will,” , “believes,” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements in this announcement are made based on the Company’s current beliefs, known events and circumstances at the time of publication, and as such, are subject in the future to unforeseen risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s results of operations, performance and achievements to differ materially from current expectations expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the following: a decision by a customer to cancel a purchase order or supply agreement in light of the Company’s dependence on a limited number of key customers; uncertain demand for, and acceptance of, the Company’s nanocrystalline materials; the Company’s manufacturing capacity and product mix flexibility in light of customer demand; the Company’s limited marketing experience; changes in development and distribution relationships; the impact of competitive products and technologies; the Company’s dependence on patents and protection of proprietary information; the ability to satisfy and maintain minimum listing requirements of the NASDAQ Global Market; the resolution of litigation in which the Company may become involved; and other factors described in the Company’s Form 10-K filed March 25, 2009. In addition, the Company’s forward-looking statements could be affected by general industry and market conditions and growth rates. Except as required by federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new events, uncertainties or other contingencies.