PPT VISION, Inc. Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2001 Results

MINNEAPOLIS, February 15 /PRNewswire/ -- PPT VISION, Inc. (Nasdaq: PPTV) today announced financial results for the first quarter ending January 31, 2001.  Net revenues for the first quarter were $4,801,000, which represents an increase of 17% compared to net revenues of $4,107,000 for the same period in fiscal 2000.  The Company's net loss was $446,000 or 8 cents per share compared to a net loss of $542,000 or 10 cents per share for the same period in fiscal 2000. 

Machine vision system unit sales for the three-month period ended January 31, 2001 totaled a record 284 compared to 190 for the same period in fiscal 2000.  Since inception, PPT VISION has sold over 3,800 machine vision systems to over 295 customers.

"Our sequential revenue results reflect a slowdown in orders, mainly in the electronic segment of our business, largely the result of the recent slowdown of capital spending in the manufacturing sector of the economy," stated Mr. Joseph C. Christenson, President of PPT VISION, Inc.  "Looking to the second quarter, we do expect revenues to show an increase in comparison with the prior year second quarter, however, it is unlikely that we will show an increase on a sequential basis."

"We will deliver further enhancements to our existing 2D DSL machine vision product line during the upcoming quarters.  These enhancements consist of software releases to support our new higher speed image processing board and additions to our expanded family of digital cameras.  While the remainder of fiscal 2001 may have uncertainty resulting from a general economic slowdown, we believe our commitment to developing our core 2D DSL and 3D SMI technologies will yield significant long-term revenue growth for PPT VISION," concluded Mr. Christenson.

PPT VISION, Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, and integrates 2D and 3D machine vision-based automated inspection systems for manufacturing applications.  Machine vision-based inspection systems enable manufacturers to realize significant economic paybacks by increasing the quality of manufactured parts and improving the productivity of manufacturing processes.  The Company operates through two divisions.  The Vision Systems Division (VSD) develops and applies 2D and 3D vision technology for general purpose end-user and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) applications in the manufacturing marketplace.  The Microelectronics Systems Division (MSD) develops and markets application-specific inspection solutions utilizing the Company's core 2D and 3D vision technology for three target markets:  inspection of leaded and bumped components in the semiconductor back-end manufacturing process, inspection of surface-mount electronic connectors, and inspection of components used in hard disk drives.  The Company's vision systems are sold throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia to a broad range of industry categories including manufacturers of automotive, electronic and semiconductor components, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and plastics.  The Company's Common Stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market tier of The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol PPTV. For more information, please see the PPT VISION, Inc. web site at www.pptvision.com.

Conference Call

The Company has scheduled a conference call for 10:00 AM CST on Thursday, February 15th.  In the conference call, the Company will discuss the results for the recent quarter and expectations with respect to future performance.  The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet by StreetFusion.  To listen live go to www.streetfusion.com.

A digitized replay of the first quarter conference call will be available between 1:30 p.m. February 15th and midnight February 22nd.   To access the replay please use the following numbers:  U.S.--800-475-6701; International--320-365-3844; Access Code-567276.

Forward Looking Statements

The discussion above contains forward?looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties as described by PPT VISION's periodic filings.  Actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to the following: changes in worldwide general economic conditions, a change in the level of capital spending by electronic component manufacturers and cyclicality of capital spending by other customers, PPT VISION's ability to keep pace with technological developments and evolving industry standards, worldwide competition, and PPT VISION's ability to protect its existing intellectual property from challenges from third parties and other factors.  Additional information with respect to the risks and uncertainties faced by PPT  VISION may be found in the section "Business" under the caption "Important  Factors Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" contained in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 10?K for the year ended October 31, 2000 and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information contact
Richard R. Peterson
Chief Financial Officer
www.pptvision.com