Graham Corporation Awarded $7.5 Million in Orders Primarily for U.S. Petrochemical Market

• Two U.S. orders driven by resurgence of chemical/petrochemical industry resulting from availability of low cost natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs)
• One Middle East order for oil refinery expansion
• Increasing fiscal 2014 capital expenditures to between $6 million and $7 million, including a facility expansion to address expected growth in demand

BATAVIA, N.Y., Sept. 24, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Graham Corporation (NYSE MKT:GHM) ("Graham" or the "Company"), a global business that engineers, manufactures, and sells critical equipment for the oil refining, petrochemical and power industries, and also supplies components and raw materials for nuclear energy facilities, announced that it was recently awarded three surface condenser orders totaling $7.5 million. Two of the orders are for new U.S. production capacity of chemical/petrochemicals in the Gulf Coast region. Lower feedstock and energy costs stemming from shale gas development have driven investments in chemical and petrochemical capacity. The third order is to support expansion of an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. The projects are expected to ship during the latter half of fiscal 2015, which ends March 31, 2015. 

"Over many decades, Graham has developed a solid reputation for delivering custom fabricated, high quality products and supporting end users from project inception to aftermarket support. We believe that our leadership position is demonstrated by our recent project wins for investments in new chemical and petrochemical capacity in North America as well as by continued demand for our equipment in the Middle East. We have won several projects during the past two quarters associated with the North American chemical industry renaissance and we believe that our bid pipeline presents us with further opportunities. While order releases by our key end markets appear to be gaining momentum, as is typical, we continue to expect ongoing variability in quarterly order levels," stated James R. Lines, Graham's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Graham has also increased its expected capital expenditure range for fiscal 2014, which ends March 31, 2014, to between approximately $6 million and $7 million, up from its previous expectation of $3.5 million to $4.5 million. The increase is for facility expansion on its main campus in Batavia, NY, and is driven by the Company's expectations for continued growth in demand based on the strong fundamentals of the global energy and petrochemical industries as well as to support the Company's long-term diversification strategy.  The expansion is expected to be completed in the first half of fiscal 2015.

Mr. Lines concluded, "Our recent order activity, coupled with the quality of our bidding pipeline, prompt us to believe that now is the right time to initiate the expansion of our manufacturing capacity in Batavia. We believe that this expansion supports our strategy to double organic revenue during this current cycle."  

ABOUT GRAHAM CORPORATION

With world-renowned engineering expertise in vacuum and heat transfer technology, Graham Corporation is a global designer, manufacturer and supplier of custom-engineered ejectors, pumps, condensers, vacuum systems and heat exchangers. For more than 75 years, Graham has built a reputation for top quality, reliable products and high-standards of customer service. Sold either as components or complete system solutions, the principal markets for Graham's equipment are energy, including oil and gas refining and nuclear and other power generation, chemical/petrochemical and other process industries. In addition, Graham's equipment can be found in diverse applications, such as metal refining, pulp and paper processing, shipbuilding, water heating, refrigeration, desalination, food processing, pharmaceutical, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, and in nuclear power installations, both inside the reactor vessel and outside the containment vessel. 

Graham Corporation's subsidiary Energy Steel & Supply Co. is a leading code fabrication and specialty machining company dedicated exclusively to the nuclear power industry.

Graham Corporation's reach spans the globe. Its equipment is installed in facilities from North and South America to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Graham routinely posts news and other important information on its website, www.graham-mfg.com, where additional comprehensive information on Graham Corporation and its subsidiaries can be found.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "appears," "could," "plan," and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events, or developments that Graham Corporation expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to, the expected performance of Energy Steel & Supply Co, expected expansion and growth opportunities within the domestic and international nuclear power generation markets, anticipated revenue, anticipated capital expenditures and growth, the timing of conversion of backlog to sales, market presence, profit margins, tax rates, foreign sales operations, its ability to improve cost competitiveness, customer preferences, changes in market conditions in the industries in which it operates, changes in general economic conditions and customer behavior, forecasts regarding the timing and scope of the economic recovery in its markets, and its acquisition strategy are forward-looking statements. Because they are forward-looking, they should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Graham Corporation's most recent Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including under the heading entitled "Risk Factors." 

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Graham Corporation's underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Graham Corporation's forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Graham Corporation disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.