VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Coastal Contacts Inc. (TSX:COA) a direct-to-consumer vision products company which designs, produces and distributes contact lenses and eyeglasses, posted unaudited financial results for the three and six months ended April 30, 2009.

Sales for the quarter were $33.3 million, an increase of $4.7 million or 16 percent from the same period in 2008. Gross profit was $9.4 million or 28 percent of sales, compared to 28 percent in the same period in 2008. Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter was $1.4 million, which represented a 56 percent increase over the same period last year; net earnings for the quarter were $0.5 million. The company generated $4 million in operating cash flow and ended the quarter with $14.6 million of cash.

For the six months ending April 30, 2009, Coastal Contacts reported sales of $64.6 million, a 20 percent increase over the same period last year. The company shipped 624,000 orders, a 10 percent increase over the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.5 million, a 310 percent increase over the same period last year.

“The company is gaining traction in both the contact lens and prescription eyeglasses markets,” said Roger Hardy, president and CEO of Coastal, which is based here. “The adoption of eCommerce for the purchase of vision care products is increasing as discerning consumers seek value propositions that combine savings and convenience. Additionally, a challenging economy is providing incentive to consumers to test new shopping models and new retailers in order to identify new ways to save money and drive down their family's health care costs. Coastal is positioning itself to benefit from these trends.”