BUSINESS MEMO: SPARTECH CORP. ANNOUNCES INCREASE IN NET EARNINGS

Spartech Corp. has announced a significant increase in its results for the second quarter and first six months of its fiscal year, ending May 4.

Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 1996 were $4.8 million, or 19 cents per fully diluted share, a 21 percent increase from the $3.9 million, or 16 cents per fully diluted share, reported during the same period last year. Sales were up, from $64.4 million during the second quarter of 1994, to $95.4 million for the same quarter this year.

For the first six months of fiscal 1996, net earnings were $8.6 million, or 35 cents per fully diluted share, up 21 percent from the $7.1 million, or 29 cents a share, during the same period in 1995. Sales for the first half of the current fiscal year were $185.8 million, up from $174.9 million during the same period in 1995.

The St. Louis-based company has two large operations in Cape Girardeau -- Spartech Plastics, 2500 Spartech Drive, and Spartech Compounding on Nash Road.