financial year as net income jumped 27.5 percent and sales rose 16.3 percent.

Net income for the year to January 31, 2001 was $305,086 compared with $239,132 in the previous year.

Sales rose $501,840 or 16.3 percent to $3,076,279, company chairman Donald Lines said.

The company also said gross profits increased by $440,971 or 20.36 percent.

Operating expenses were $388,052 or 21.4 percent higher in the year ended January 31, largely due to a $261,268 or 33 percent increase in salary and wage costs and an increase in marketing and advertising expenditure.

During the year, the company repurchased a net of 50,576 of its own shares, at an average price of $5.05, reducing shares outstanding to 614,931 after taking into account 48,500 shares issued as a result of the exercise of stock options.

The company recorded cash and deposits of $576,252 compared to $280,323 at the end of last year. Assuming earnings enable us to do so, the company intends to continue to reduce the number of shares outstanding to 600,000 shares.