MINNEAPOLIS, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- STEN Corporation (Nasdaq: STEN), a Minneapolis-based diversified business, today reported results for its second fiscal quarter comprised of the thirteen week period ended March 30, 2008. The Company reported a net after-tax loss of $502,273 or $(.20) per diluted share for the second quarter period ended March 30, 2008. Revenues from continuing operations for the thirteen week period ended March 30, 2008 were $4,298,816, an increase of approximately 340 percent, or $3,343,120 from $955,696 for comparable period one year ago. The second quarter loss per share represented an improvement of $.15 per share from the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The Company's Stencor business accounted for $629,289, or 14.5%, of total revenue and the STEN Financial unit, including retail vehicle sales, contributed $3,669,527 in revenue for the period ended March 30, 2008. The Company reported a net loss of $1,303,857 or $(.61) per diluted share for the twenty-six weeks ended March 30, 2008. The loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 represented financial performance below the Company's previously disclosed plan. The short-fall from our plan resulted from a greater than anticipated number of loan defaults and repossessions from third-party dealer finance contracts and the impact of a delay in shipping certain product at Stencor. The Company has adjusted the approach to its business in the finance area to place a greater emphasis on financing sales from its own locations where it has a greater control of the underwriting process, and in addition it has reduced the level of purchases of finance contracts from third-party auto-dealers where credit performance has been below expectations.

Commenting on the second quarter results and the current outlook, Kenneth Brimmer, CEO, noted, "We are disappointed that we did not achieve our profitability goal in the second quarter and we see this mainly the result of reserves and write-offs related to third-party dealer customers that we no longer are doing business with and where we concluded we needed to recognize additional allowances for credit losses at the end of the period. We continue to make progress in all areas of our businesses. The increased emphasis on our company-initiated financing contracts will be a positive factor in our performance. Building on our recent initiatives, and considering the current trends, we now see revenue in the second half of fiscal 2008 ending September 30, exceeding $10 million and are forecasting after-tax earnings per share from continuing operations for the six month period to be in the range of $.20 per share. As we look ahead to fiscal 2009, we believe that we have improved on our basic business model and see total revenue for the year exceeding $25 million and are forecasting earnings of $.50-$.60 per share."

STEN Corporation and Subsidiaries, headquartered in Minnesota, is a diversified business, primarily focused on its financing business and buy-here pay-here retail vehicle sales business through STEN Financial Corporation. The Company's Stencor business is a contract manufacturing business and distribution business. In addition to manufacturing medical and industrial products, the company manufactures and distributes ZERO BUG ZONE(TM) an environmentally-friendly pest-eliminator and Stencor also distributes Liquid Filter(TM) a unique product which enhances indoor air quality. These products are available at http://www.gozbiz.com.

STEN Corporation common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol STEN. More information about STEN Corporation is available at the Company's website: http://www.stencorporation.com. Except for historical information contained herein, the disclosures in this news release are forward-looking statements that could be affected by certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially, depending on a variety of factors. These risks are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release.




                      STEN CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
                    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                                 (unaudited)

                              For the     For the      For the       For the
                              thirteen    thirteen    twenty-six   twenty-six
                            weeks ended  weeks ended  weeks ended  weeks ended
                              March 30,    April 1,     March 30,    April 1,
                                2008         2007         2008         2007
    REVENUES
      Stencor sales           $629,289    $363,365      $957,355     $647,448
      Vehicle sales,
       interest, and other   3,669,527     592,331     5,396,002      952,937
    TOTAL REVENUES           4,298,816     955,696     6,353,357    1,600,385

    COST AND EXPENSES
      Costs of goods sold
       related to Stencor      537,174     393,906       923,859      753,608
      Expenses related to
       STEN Financial
        Cost of autos sold   2,003,526      61,907     2,830,724       62,300
        Salaries and benefits  441,764     282,978       859,149      456,305
        Occupancy and
         operation expenses    246,311     177,238       521,982      360,408
        Depreciation and
         amortization           98,415      95,013       197,574      150,631
        Provision for credit
         losses                778,123      58,819     1,288,755       92,520
        Interest expense       615,582     118,351     1,218,853      125,095
      Selling, general and
       administrative          374,593     237,315       590,618      455,096
    TOTAL COST AND EXPENSES  5,095,489   1,425,527     8,432,514    2,455,963

        Loss from Continuing
         Operations Before
         Income Taxes         (796,673)   (469,831)   (2,079,157)    (855,578)

    BENEFIT FROM INCOME TAXES  294,400     172,140       775,300      318,668

    NET LOSS FROM CONTINUING
     OPERATIONS               (502,273)   (297,691)   (1,303,857)    (536,910)
      Loss from Discontinued
       Operations                    0   (105,646)             0     (129,686)
      Benefit from income
       taxes from Discontinued
       Operations                    0      41,961             0       48,632
      Loss from discontinued
       operations                    0    (63,685)             0      (81,054)
    NET LOSS                 $(502,273) $(361,376)   $(1,303,857)   $(617,964)

    NET LOSS PER SHARE FROM
     CONTINUING OPERATIONS:
      Basic                    $(0.20)     $(0.15)        $(0.61)      $(0.27)
      Diluted                  $(0.20)     $(0.15)        $(0.61)      $(0.27)
    NET LOSS PER SHARE FROM
     DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS:
      Basic                      $0.00     $(0.03)         $0.00       $(0.04)
      Diluted                    $0.00     $(0.03)         $0.00       $(0.04)
    NET LOSS PER SHARE:
      Basic                    $(0.20)     $(0.18)        $(0.61)      $(0.31)
      Diluted                  $(0.20)     $(0.18)        $(0.61)      $(0.31)

    WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON AND
     COMMON EQUIVALENT SHARES
     OUTSTANDING
      Basic                  2,528,751   1,987,066     2,131,030    1,988,982
      Diluted                2,528,751   1,987,066     2,131,030    1,988,982



                      STEN CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
                           CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS

                                    ASSETS
                                                   March 30,    September 30,
                                                     2008           2007
                                                  (unaudited)     (audited)
    CURRENT ASSETS
      Cash, cash equivalents                        $458,632       $366,118
      Current portion of loans receivable, net     3,024,928      2,851,529
      Other current assets                         4,556,251      3,337,519
        Total Current Assets                       8,039,811      6,555,166

    PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET                    1,232,500      1,293,618

    OTHER ASSETS
      Intangible assets, net                       1,605,078      1,750,042
      Loan receivable, net of current portion      4,502,357      4,487,466
      Other Assets                                 3,627,818      3,226,387
        Total Other Assets                         9,735,253      9,463,895

          TOTAL ASSETS                           $19,007,564    $17,312,679

                     LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
    TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
      Line of credit, bank                                $0        680,000
      Current portion of long term debt            4,544,796      2,886,265
      Other current liabilities                    2,669,759      2,791,762
        Total Current Liabilities                  7,214,555      6,358,027

    LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
      Dealer reserves                                 66,038      1,076,707
      Long-term debt, net of current portion       6,446,225      4,457,458

    TOTAL LIABILITIES                             13,726,818     11,892,192

    TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY                     5,280,746      5,420,487

    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY   $19,007,564    $17,312,679

    NET BOOK VALUE PER SHARE                           $2.08          $2.72

SOURCE STEN Corporation