(Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall)
PETERSBURG, Va., May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Star Scientific, Inc. filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2009, today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company reported cash and cash equivalents of $19.7 million as of March 31, 2009 compared with $6.5 million for the fourth quarter 2008.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090317/STARSCIENTIFICLOGO )
Net sales for first quarter 2009, which totaled $.15 million, were essentially unchanged compared with fourth quarter 2008 net sales of $.15 million. The company believes that sales of the company's dissolvable smokeless tobacco products, Ariva and Stonewall, were adversely impacted by an increase in the Federal Excise tax on tobacco products contained in the SCHIP legislation, which became effective April 1. Wholesale and retail operations were reluctant to maintain inventory on hand beginning in late February, in an effort to minimize taxable inventory as of the April 1 effective date. Early second quarter sales data appear to indicate that dissolvable tobacco sales have rebounded as wholesale and retail inventories are being restocked. Star Scientific had a net loss of $5.2 million for first quarter 2009 compared with a $5.5 million loss for first quarter 2008.
The company also announced that the jury trial in its patent infringement lawsuit against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) will commence with jury selection on Monday, May 18. The trial will be held in US District Court, West Lombard Street in Baltimore, MD, and Star anticipates that the jury trial will last approximately three weeks.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Star Scientific, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, the "Company") has tried, whenever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions. These statements reflect the Company's current beliefs and are based upon information currently available to it. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements.
