Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROCK) said today that slower economic conditions during the fourth quarter – especially in the residential building and automotive markets – reduced its fourth-quarter sales and earnings from earlier expectations.

In spite of the fourth-quarter slowdown, the Company expects 2007 net income from continuing operations of approximately $31 million. Gibraltar also said that in the year ahead it will benefit from many of the actions it took in 2007, including a full-year contribution from its three most recent acquisitions (Dramex, Noll/NorWesCo, and Florence, which together added approximately $160 million of higher-margin sales), lean initiatives, facility consolidations, and the continued streamlining of existing businesses which lowered its cost structure. The Company also said that, as it moves through the first half of 2008, it expects to see some seasonal increase in activity, in spite of a residential building market that is operating well below its historic levels.

Fourth-quarter results from continuing operations, after the effect of the items discussed below, are now expected to range from ($.02) per share to ($.05) per share.

Fourth-quarter results from continuing operations will be negatively impacted by several income tax-related charges including a higher-than-projected tax rate for the year. As pre-tax income fell below levels projected at the end of the third quarter, the true-up of permanent differences between book and taxable income caused an increase in the effective tax rate used in the quarter. The result of all of the tax adjustments is expected to reduce earnings in a range of $.02 to $.05 per share. Fourth-quarter income from continuing operations was also negatively impacted by several inventory purchase accounting adjustments from the Noll/NorWesCo and Florence acquisitions. The impact of expensing these charges on a pre-tax basis amounted to approximately $0.7 million, or $.01 per share after tax.

“The slowdown in the residential building market continued during the fourth quarter, and many of our customers responded by substantially reducing their orders to control inventories, which adversely affected our volumes and mix. Weakness in the housing and credit markets spilled over into other areas, including the automotive sector, and our business there was also below our earlier expectations,” said Henning N. Kornbrekke, Gibraltar’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

“From its peak at the beginning of 2006, the new housing market has fallen by more than 50 percent. Even though our 2008 business forecast anticipates some additional softening in the housing market, both the magnitude and length of the current slowdown indicate that it could stabilize and begin to rebound later this year,” said Mr. Kornbrekke.

“As a result of the actions we took in 2007 – and our continued focus on operational excellence and lowering costs – we see opportunity for improvement in 2008, even with difficult conditions in our two primary markets. Longer term, Gibraltar is well positioned to optimize its performance when the markets we serve improve,” said Brian J. Lipke, Gibraltar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

“In the fourth quarter, the Company repaid approximately $65 million of debt, reducing its debt-to-total capital ratio at year end to approximately 46 percent, from approximately 49 percent at the end of the third quarter. We will continue to aggressively manage our inventory and working capital in the year ahead, with a clear objective of further reducing our debt,” said Mr. Lipke.

“As we move through the first half of the year, we expect to see the normal seasonal increase in activity. Longer term, the steps we are taking to improve Gibraltar’s core operating characteristics position us for new thresholds of performance as our markets return to more normal levels of activity,” said Mr. Lipke.

Gibraltar Industries is a leading manufacturer, processor, and distributor of products for the building, industrial, and vehicular markets. The company serves customers in a variety of industries in all 50 states and throughout the world. It has approximately 4,000 employees and operates 78 facilities in 27 states, Canada, China, England, Germany, and Poland. Gibraltar’s common stock is a component of the S&P SmallCap 600 and the Russell 2000® Index.

Information contained in this release, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking, and may be subject to a number of risk factors, including: general economic conditions; the impact of the availability and the effects of changing raw material prices on the Company’s results of operations; energy prices and usage; the ability to pass through cost increases to customers; changing demand for the Company’s products and services; risks associated with the integration of acquisitions; and changes in interest or tax rates.

Gibraltar will review its fourth-quarter results and discuss its outlook for the first quarter during its quarterly conference call, which will be held at 9 a.m. on February 19. Details of the call can be found on Gibraltar’s Web site, at http://www.gibraltar1.com.

Gibraltar’s news releases, along with comprehensive information about the Company, are available on the Internet, at http://www.gibraltar1.com.