SPAN-AMERICA REPORTS HIGHER SALES AND NET INCOME
FOR FOURTH QUARTER OF FISCAL 2001

Declares Quarterly Dividend

 GREENVILLE, S.C. (October 30, 2001) Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq/NM:SPAN) today reported higher sales and net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 29, 2001.  Fourth quarter sales advanced 8% to $8.1 million and net income rose 48% to $424,000, or 17 cents per diluted share, compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000.  The Company also announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular cash dividend of $0.03 per share, payable on December 4, 2001, to shareholders of record on November 16, 2001.

 Fourth Quarter Results

 "Span-America's improved fourth quarter earnings performance reflects our increased sales volume and good manufacturing cost control compared with last year," stated Jim Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of Span-America Medical Systems, Inc.  "Our core medical business continued to be the major growth driver as we benefited from the addition of new products and accounts."

  Medical sales increased 9% to $4.55 million compared with $4.19 million in the fourth quarter of last year.  Medical product line leaders included therapeutic mattresses and patient positioners, which increased by 12% each.  Medical sales also benefited from Span-America's new line of Selan® skin care products that were added through a licensing agreement at the beginning of this year's second fiscal quarter.  In other medical lines, sales of seating products were up by 5% and mattress overlays were down by 7%.

 "We recently introduced three new medical products, including the PressuerGuard Easy Air^TM, a sophisticated low-air-loss mattress designed for the long-term care and home care markets; and two specialized wheelchair cushions which strengthen our growing business in seating products," continued Mr. Ferguson. "We are optimistic about the potential of these new products, and we plan to invest more in product development in fiscal 2002.  In addition, I am pleased to announce that we have hired Jim O'Regan to fill the newly created position of vice president of R&D and engineering.  He has significant experience in this area and will be responsible for directing our new product development efforts."  

 Custom products sales increased 8% in the fourth quarter to $3.54 million compared with $3.28 million in last year's fourth quarter.  The leading custom product lines in the fourth quarter included consumer pillows and Geo-Systems^TM mattress overlays that are sold through Span-America's marketing partner, Louisville Bedding Company.  Sales of industrial packaging products in the fourth quarter were down by 32% to $670,000 compared with the same quarter of last year, partially offsetting increases in consumer sales.  Most of the industrial sales decline was due to the loss of business from two large customers combined with the general weakness in the industrial packaging market.

 "Our gross profit margin increased to 32% from 28% in the fourth quarter of last year," continued Mr. Ferguson.  "The higher gross margin allowed us to invest more in selling, marketing and R&D efforts to generate future sales growth. Looking forward, we expect business to slow somewhat in the October – December quarter as a result of the general weakness in the economy combined with slight seasonality in the medical and custom products businesses which results in our first fiscal quarter being historically weaker than our fourth fiscal quarter."

 Year-End Results

 Net sales for fiscal 2001, which ended in September, rose 9% to $29.1 million compared with $26.6 million in fiscal 2000. Earnings for fiscal 2001 increased 30% to $1.26 million, or 50 cents a diluted share, compared with $971,000, or 39 cents a diluted share in fiscal 2000.  Most of the sales growth for the year came from medical products, which grew 12% in fiscal 2001 to $17.4 million compared with $15.5 million last year. The medical product line leaders were mattresses, which grew 29% in fiscal 2001, and the Selan skin care products, which were new to Span-America this year.

 In the custom products segment, sales during fiscal 2001 increased 6% to $11.7 million compared with $11.1 million last year. All of the custom products growth came from higher sales of consumer pillows and mattress overlays sold by Span-America's exclusive distributor, Louisville Bedding.  Within the custom products segment, total consumer sales increased 18% to $8.5 million while sales of industrial products declined by 18% to $3.2 million.

 Net income for fiscal 2001 grew by 30% to $1.26 million, or 50 cents a diluted share, compared with $971,000, or 39 cents a share in fiscal 2000.  The earnings increase was mainly attributable to higher sales volume and better control of manufacturing costs during the year.

 About Span-America Medical Systems, Inc.

  Span-America manufactures and markets a comprehensive selection of pressure management products for the medical market, including Geo-Matt®, PressureGuard®, Geo-Mattress®, Span+Aids®, and Isch-Dish® products.  The Company also supplies custom foam and packaging products to the consumer and industrial markets. Span-America's stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market's National Market under the symbol SPAN.

  The Company has made forward-looking statements in this release, regarding management's expectations for future sales and earnings performance.  Management wishes to caution the reader that these statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing the Company including: (a) the loss of a major distributor of the Company's medical or custom products, (b) inability to achieve anticipated sales volumes of medical or custom products, (c) changes in relationships with large customers, (d) the impact of competitive products and pricing, (e) government reimbursement changes in the medical market, (f) FDA regulation of medical device manufacturing, (g) raw material cost increases; and (h) other risks referenced in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.  The Company disclaims any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  Span-America Medical Systems, Inc. is not responsible for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services.