FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 1998

JOHN B. SANFILIPPO ANNOUNCES FOURTH-QUARTER, FY 1998 RESULTS

Fourth-Quarter EPS of $0.05 at "High End of Expectations;"
FY 1998 EPS $0.56 vs. $0.06 Loss in FY 1997

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill, August 26, 1998 --John B. Sanfilippo & Son , Inc. (Nasdaq: JBSS) today announced results for its fiscal 1998 fourth quarter and fiscal year 1998 ended June 25, 1998..

Net sales for the fiscal 1998 fourth quarter were $69.3 million versus $74.5 million for the same quarter last year, a decline of 7.0 percent. The decrease was mainly due to soft sales and order backlog in the consumer and industrial distribution channels. Net income for the fourth quarter was $0.5 million, or $0.05 per share, compared with $0.6 million, or $0.07 per share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997. The results for the fiscal 1998 fourth quarter were at the top of the range announced by the company June 9, 1998. At that time, the company anticipated fiscal fourth-quarter earnings to be in the range of breakeven to net income of $0.05 per share.

Gross profit for the fiscal 1998 fourth quarter was 18.4 percent versus 16.0 percent in the previous year's fourth quarter. As a result of increased promotional spending, selling and administrative expenses were 13.6 percent of net sales in the 1998 fourth quarter compared with 11.8 percent of net sales in the 1997 period. Fiscal 1998 fourth-quarter operating income was $3.3 million compared with $3.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997. Increased working capital requirements resulted in interest expense of $2.5 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998 versus $2.1 million in the 1997 period.

Fiscal 1998 Profitable vs. Fiscal 1997 Loss
Net sales for fiscal 1998 were $317.4 million, a 2.6 percent increase from $309.5 million in fiscal 1997. The increase was attributable to gains in consumer and food service distribution channels. Net income for fiscal 1998 was $5.1 million, or $0.56 per share, compared with a loss if $0.6 per share, in fiscal 1997.

Gross profit for fiscal 1998 was 17.9 percent compared with 14.0 percent in fiscal 1997. As a result of increased promotional spending, selling and administrative expenses were 12.6 percent of net sales. This compares with 11.7 percent of net sales for fiscal 1997. Fiscal 1998 operating income increased to $17.0 million versus $7.1 million in fiscal 1997. Fiscal 1998 interest expense was $8.8 million compared with $8.4 million in fiscal 1997.

Fiscal 1998 capital spending was $4.2 million, and cash generated from depreciation and amortization amounted to $8.2 million. In fiscal 1997, capital spending was $5.9 million with cash generated from depreciation and amortization of $8.8 million.

Building Strong Foundation for Fisher Brand
"Fiscal 1998 represented a good building year for our Fisher brand and base business," stated Jasper B. Sanfilippo, chairman and chief executive officer. "We expanded our distribution for Fisher and introduced a new product, the Snack 'N Serve nut Bowl ^TM, which has been receiving positive acceptance from the grocery trade.

"While it is disappointing that not all of our financial objectives were realized, we believe we are advancing in the right direction, " Sanfilippo said.

Annual Meeting Scheduled The company also announced that its 1998 annual stockholders meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 28, 1998, at 10:00 a.m. at the Wyndham Hotel Northwest Chicago, 400 Park Boulevard, Itasca, IL. The record date for the annual stockholders meeting will be September 11, 1998.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. is a processor packager, marketer and distributor of shelled, in-shell nuts and sesame sticks that are sold under a variety of private labels under the company's Fisher^®, Evon's^®, Sunshine Country^®, Flavor Tree^® and Texas Pride^TM brand names. The company also markets and distributes a diverse product line of other food and snack items.

For further information on John B. Sanfilippo free of charge via fax, simply dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter "JBSS."

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