Askeladden Capital nominates five candidates to AstroNova board

In a letter to AstroNova (ALOT) shareholders, Askeladden Capital founder Samir Patel said, in part, “I believe that AstroNova Inc. is a fundamentally high-quality business, with leading competitive positions in niche markets and a large base of recurring revenue from supplies and long-term contracts. Despite these attractive qualities, during the incumbent Board’s tenure, we owners of ALOT have suffered severe short and long-term shareholder value destruction. Shares have lost almost 50% of their value since the disastrous acquisition of private Portuguese company MTEX NS last May. AstroNova’s share price is lower today than it was eleven years ago, when Greg Woods became CEO in February 2014. ALOT shares have dramatically underperformed small and micro-cap benchmarks during the tenure of every single existing director on AstroNova’s Board. Through the nomination deadline of March 21, 2025, AstroNova shares have underperformed the iShares Micro-Cap ETF…This underperformance is even more severe vs. other small-cap benchmarks such as the Russell 2000. The share price has fallen further since the nomination deadline; today’s numbers would be worse than those cited above. The share price isn’t the only concern: AstroNova recently breached its debt covenants, causing an event of default. While the lender fortunately agreed to extend terms, the company’s recent 8-K filing disclosed less than $4M in availability under its $25M revolving credit facility, leaving AstroNova poorly positioned to absorb any additional headwinds in a volatile and uncertain macroeconomic environment. I write as the founder and portfolio manager of Askeladden Capital, a disclosed 5% owner of AstroNova since 2020. Based on available filings, I believe that we are the largest independent shareholder today. We own ~9.2% of the company on behalf of our clients, who range from ordinary individuals saving for retirement to billion-dollar charitable organizations funding important scientific and educational endeavors. We find it completely unacceptable that our clients’ worthy goals have been impaired and undermined by persistent shareholder value destruction at AstroNova. We have repeatedly engaged with the company in recent years regarding its poor operating and share-price performance. We feel our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. We have made multiple entreaties to the Board requesting our serious concerns be addressed quietly and behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Mr. Quain, Mr. Woods, Mr. Warzala, Ms. Schlaeppi, and Mr. Michas have collectively shown signs of entrenchment.” Nominees are: Jeff Sands, Founding Partner of Dorset Partners, Shawn Kravetz, President and CIO of Esplanade Capital, Ryan Oviatt, who held various roles including Board Member, Co-CEO, CFO, and Treasurer at Profire Energy, Boyd Roberts, who held various executive roles at Franklin Covey and Patel.