Standard Motor Products, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2008 Results and a Quarterly Dividend

NEW YORK, May 7, 2008 -- Standard Motor Products, Inc. , an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, reported today its consolidated financial results for the three months ending March 31, 2008.

Consolidated net sales for the first quarter of 2008 were $208.1 million, compared to consolidated net sales of $199.8 million during the comparable quarter in 2007. Earnings from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2008 were $13.3 million or 68 cents per diluted share, compared to $2.9 million or 16 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2007. Excluding restructuring expenses for previously announced facility moves, a gain from the sale and leaseback of its corporate facilities in Long Island City, New York and the associated defeasance costs on the building mortgage, earnings from continuing operations for the first quarter 2008 were $3.1 million or 17 cents per diluted share compared to earnings in the first quarter 2007 of $3.4 million or 18 cents per diluted share.

Commenting on the results, Mr. Lawrence I. Sills, Standard Motor Products' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "In addition to the financial results, during the first quarter we made progress towards achieving our strategic plan. The four percent increase in net sales results primarily from additional original equipment service (OES) business, and this is one of our key strategic goals. We anticipate shipping to additional customers during the latter part of the year. We are pleased with our progress in this area.

"A second strategic initiative is the relocation of our factories from high cost to low cost areas. This is also progressing well. Puerto Rico and Long Island City have ceased manufacturing and we have begun to ramp up production in Reynosa, Mexico. As we have previously disclosed, we anticipate partial savings in the second half 2008, though we will incur the balance of the move costs this year. We still forecast $9 million annual savings from these two plant closings in 2009.

"The one area that is not performing as well as we would like is Temperature Control. First, pre-season orders were lighter than usual, reflecting, we believe, substantial field inventories as well as general concern for the economy. Further, to compete with imports from China, we implemented our second major price reduction in two years, this one totaling approximately $6 million annually.

"As a result of these reductions, we feel we are now competitive with the Chinese imports, but our margins are far from satisfactory. We are working aggressively to reduce cost. We continue to shift compressor remanufacturing to Mexico, and in 2008 we will produce 120,000 more units in Mexico than in 2007.

Our target is to produce 80%-90% of our rebuilt compressors in Mexico by 2009. These moves, together with an internal cost reduction program, will help offset the lost margin due to price reductions."

The Board of Directors has approved payment of a quarterly dividend of nine cents per share on the common stock outstanding. The dividend will be paid on June 2, 2008 to stockholders of record on May 15, 2008.

Standard Motor Products, Inc. will hold a conference call at 11:00 AM, Eastern Time, on Wednesday, May 7, 2008. The dial in number is 800-862-9098 (domestic) or 785-424-1051 (international). The playback number is 800-753-6121 (domestic) or 402-220-2676 (international). The conference ID # is STANDARD.