* Net income up 33% to $19.5 million, or $0.68 per diluted share  * Cash and short term investments increase to $177.2 million 

Net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $19.5 million, or $0.68 per diluted share. This compares with first quarter of 2008 net income of $14.7 million, or $0.51 per diluted share. Net sales for the first quarter of 2009 increased 6% to $180.2 million from $170.3 million in the comparable period a year ago. Gross profit for the first quarter of 2009 was $62.7 million, or 34.8% of sales, versus $51.9 million, or 30.5% of sales, in the comparable quarter of 2008.

"Our strong financial performance during the first quarter, particularly in our Energy and Chemicals ("E&C") business, benefited from our project backlog, improved project execution and ongoing cost reduction initiatives," stated Sam Thomas, Chart's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I'm especially pleased with our ability to implement timely cost containment actions to right-size our businesses, driving margin improvement and strong free cash flow, while we operate in this very uncertain business environment."

Backlog at March 31, 2009 was $307.5 million, down 23% from the December 31, 2008 level of $398.8 million. Orders for the first quarter of 2009 were $89.3 million compared with fourth quarter 2008 orders of $126.9 million.

"As we expected, orders continued to slow in the first quarter due to diminishing global industrial and capital project activity," stated Mr. Thomas. "This trend particularly affected our Distribution & Storage ("D&S") and E&C businesses. We remain very cautious regarding second half 2009 order activity, but we have seen an increase in recent bid activity for projects, which in the past has been a leading indicator for improved order intake."

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses for the first quarter of 2009 were $25.9 million, or 14.4% of sales, compared with $23.1 million, or 13.5% of sales, for the same quarter a year ago. The increase is primarily due to variable sales commission costs, related to increased sales at E&C compared to the prior year's quarter, bad debt expense as a result of the current economic environment, and approximately $500,000 in costs associated with workforce reductions.

Income tax expense was $9.6 million for the first quarter and represented an effective tax rate of 32.8% compared with $6.6 million for the prior year quarter, which represented an effective tax rate of 31.0%. The increase in the first quarter effective tax rate was primarily due to an increase in the mix of domestic earnings which are taxed at a higher rate.

Cash and short term investments were $177.2 million at March 31, 2009, which is $22.8 million higher than balances at December 31, 2008.

SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS

E&C segment sales increased 22% to $90.4 million for the first quarter of 2009 compared with $73.9 million for the same quarter in the prior year. E&C gross profit margin increased to 38.3% in the 2009 period compared with 29.0% in the 2008 quarter primarily due to favorable project mix and improved project cost performance. The soft first quarter order trend was primarily driven by E&C's systems and brazed aluminum heat exchanger product lines, where there have been order cancellations or project delays due to current market conditions.

Distribution & Storage ("D&S") segment sales declined by 7% to $69.4 million for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $74.3 million for the same quarter in the prior year. The decrease in sales reflects the impact of a stronger dollar against the euro and Czech koruna, lower volume as well as lower prices due to a reduction in raw material surcharge pass through. D&S gross profit margin of 28.8% in the quarter was down from its margin of 29.5% a year ago largely due to volume and price reductions.

BioMedical segment sales declined by 8% to $20.4 million for the first quarter of 2009 compared with $22.1 million for the same quarter in the prior year. Although medical respiratory product sales increased due to higher volume and pricing in European markets, this was more than offset by a decline in biological storage system sales and other product sales. Biological storage system sales declined due to lower volume in the breeder market, while other product sales declined due to lower volume in both MRI components and U.S. government contract work manufactured at the Denver, Colorado facility. BioMedical gross profit margin increased to 39.4% in the quarter compared with 38.8% for the same period in 2008. This was primarily due to improved mix and pricing.

A portion of the Company's workforce reductions included implementation of voluntary separation programs ("VSP"), which will also impact the second quarter of 2009. Also during the second quarter, the Company made the decision to shut down its Denver BioMedical facility. MRI components will no longer be manufactured, while the U.S. government contract work is expected to be manufactured at other Chart facilities. Charges of approximately $4.0 million, or $.09 per diluted share, are expected to be recognized in the second quarter of 2009 as a result of these cost containment actions.

OUTLOOK

Our existing backlog provides good visibility for the second quarter and early third quarter of 2009, but the uncertain economic conditions continue to hinder our ability to forecast the remainder of 2009 with confidence, particularly in light of the significant decline in orders experienced during the first quarter. To date, we have reduced our total workforce by 5%, before taking into account the Denver shutdown and VSP, and we are prepared to move forward with further cost reduction initiatives to align our cost structure with expected market conditions as the year progresses.

Based on first quarter results, current expectations and cost reduction initiatives, the Company is tightening the range of its previously announced full year 2009 sales and earnings per share guidance. Sales are expected in the range of $600 to $640 million and diluted earnings per share expected to be in a range of $1.30 to $1.60 per share on approximately 29.0 million weighted average shares outstanding. Our current guidance includes the expected 2009 impact of the charges associated with the BioMedical Denver facility shutdown, costs related to planned workforce reductions, including the VSP, and the increase in our effective tax rate. This compares with our previous guidance with a sales range of $600 to $660 million and diluted earnings per share range of $1.15 to $1.65 per share, which did not include the impact of these items.

Mr.