Surry Business

The board of directors at Insteel Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: IIIN) in Mount Airy has authorized the company to repurchase up to $25 million of its outstanding common stock over the next 12 months.

The repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors.

The board’s action does not obligate Insteel to acquire any particular amount of common stock and may be suspended at any time at the company’s discretion.

Insteel has 18.1 million common shares outstanding. Assuming that shares were repurchased at the Dec. 4, 2007 closing price, the repurchase program represents approximately 13 percent of the company’s outstanding stock.

The new authorization by Insteel’s board replaces its previous authorization to repurchase up to $25 million of the company’s common stock, which was to expire on Jan. 5. Through Tuesday, the company had repurchased approximately $2.5 million, or 208,585 shares, of its common stock in this fiscal quarter.

The board of directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 3 cents per share on Insteel’s common stock, payable Jan 4, 2008, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 21, 2007.

Insteel Industries is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. The company manufactures and markets prestressed concrete strand and welded wire reinforcement, including concrete pipe reinforcement, engineered structural mesh and standard welded wire reinforcement. Insteel’s products are sold primarily to manufacturers of concrete products that are used in nonresidential construction.

Headquartered in Surry County, Insteel operates six manufacturing facilities in the United States.