FOOL CONFERENCE CALL SYNOPSIS*
By Debora Tidwell (MF Debit)

Black Box Corporation <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BBOX)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: BBOX)") end if %>
1000 Park Drive
Lawrence, PA 15055
(412) 746-5500
http://www.blackbox.com

UNION CITY, Ca., January 9, 1997/FOOLWIRE/ --- Black Box Corporation reported earnings this morning for their third quarter and the first nine months of fiscal 1997. In summary, revenue and net income for both the quarter and the first nine months were at reord levels again. Revenue was up 22% for the quarter and 21% for the first nine months. Net income was up a strong 37% for the quarter and up 35% on a year-to-date basis. EPS is also up a strong 30% for both the quarter and the first nine months. This is the 20th consecutive quarter that their revenues and income have been up double digits and they are particularly pleased with the worldwide strength of their results. Taking a look at their earnings per share before goodwill and interest, their EPS for the quarter was $0.23 and on a year-to-date basis they are up to $1.25 per share.

BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS. Taking a look at the balance sheet, their receivables continue to run in the 54 day range, comparable with last quarter. Inventory turns are holding steady at 6 times. Capital expenditures were $700,000 this quarter and are up to $1.7 million for the first nine months compared to $2 million for last year's same period of time. Debt is down $5.7 million for the quarter and is now down $16 million on a year-to-date basis. Total debt is now $33 million.

NORTH AMERICA. They attribute their record performance to their award winning catalog, new products, associated marketing materials, and their dedicated team of professionals. They are particularly pleased with North American growth for the quarter at 14% which brings their year-to-date growth into solid double digits at 12%. This strong growth was driven by their balanced program of award winning marketing materials, new products, and account penetration all of which are the key elements for their profitable growth strategy and business model.

INTERNATIONAL GROWTH. Growth on the international front continued with revenues up 32% for the quarter. International business represented 48% of third quarter revenue and on a year-to-date basis now accounts for 45% of total revenue production. Growth rate for their international business on a year-to-date basis is 34%. This growth is being fueled by their top subsidiaries. For the first three quarters local growth in France was up 17%, the UK is up 36%, and their largest subsidiary in Japan is up 66%. In addition, for the first three quarters of FY 1997, all of their subsidiary operations are demonstrating double-digit local growth rate. Again, this success is driven by their focused implementation of a profitable global growth strategy.

LATIN AMERICA. In the Latin American region, Mexico continues to mature but has not yet reached profitability, costing them $0.02 per share this quarter. The new management team is in place and they put out a new catalog in mid-December that is producing encouraging results. They anticipated achieving break-even in the fourth quarter, but it may take an additional quarter to reach this goal in Mexico. On the other hand, Brazil continues to grow with revenues up 220% compared to the same quarter last year and, on a year-to-date basis has grown 285% over last year. Brazil is now solidly their fourth largest subsidiary behind Japan, the UK and France.

NEW MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE. Additionally, in their quest to foster continued focus on profitable growth in their international operations, they are regionalizing the management focus to ensure an uniform approach within each geographic area to maximize the effectiveness of their subsidiary joint ventures and distributors. Effective this week, they have established three distinct international regions headed by an experienced Black Box executive with a proven track record in each region to oversee their operations.

GROWTH BY PRODUCT LINE. In the product arena for the first three quarters of the fiscal year they are continuing to enjoy solid growth. Their cable and connector business is up 37%. Their video business is up 34%. The LAN business is up 30%. Their switch business is up 28%. Testers and power protection are up 19%. Modem and MUX is up 14%.

NEW PRODUCTS. For the first nine months of fiscal 1997 they have introduced 689 new SKUs. Revenues from new products introduced over the last seven quarters total $26.8 million. Of additional interest is their new product supplement consisting of 117 pages and over 700 SKUs mailed in the last week of December. They believe this insert will produce a very positive impact on their fourth quarter and should enable them to deliver another record year. New products include offerings from APC, 3Com, Bay Networks, Intel, and US Robotics. Total new products for FY 1997 should be over 1300 versus last year's 1100.

PRODUCTIVITY. Their dollars per day production through the third quarter was $896,000, up 21% over the previous fiscal year-to-date third quarter result of $739,000. Average order size for the fiscal year-to-date is $612, up from the prior year's actual $600.

They are very encouraged by their results for the first three quarters. They are poised to build off this success as they go into the fourth quarter with a goal of another record year for revenues and earnings.

* A Fool conference call synopsis represents an effort to highlight the salient points of a conference call and should not be taken as an authoritative accounting or transcription of the entire event. Note: Statements made by a company other than historical information may constitute forward-looking statements for which the company can claim protection under the Safe Harbor Act. Please consult the company's filings with the SEC for information on risk factors which might cause actual results to differ materially from the information contained in these forward-looking statements.