1 800 Contacts Inc (1050122) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Saturday, December 31, 2005

Exhibit 99.1

For Immediate Release

1-800 CONTACTS Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2005 Results

DRAPER, Utah, March 7, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — 1-800 CONTACTS, INC. (Nasdaq: CTAC), today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2005.

Consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005 were $55.4 million, compared to $54.0 million for the comparable quarter of the prior year.  For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, the Company reported a consolidated net loss of $(2.3) million, or $(0.17) per diluted common share, compared to consolidated net income of $1.4 million, or $0.10 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, consolidated net sales were $238.0 million, compared to $211.7 million for the prior year, a 12% increase.  The Company reported a consolidated net loss of $(2.6) million, or $(0.20) per diluted common share, for fiscal 2005 compared to a consolidated net loss of $(0.6) million, or $(0.05) per diluted common share, for fiscal 2004.

US Retail

Net sales and operating income for the Company’s US retail business for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 were $50.6 million and $3.2 million, respectively, compared to net sales of $51.3 million and operating income of $5.7 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004.  The reduction in net sales was principally a result of the Company’s inability to fill orders for certain customers due to lack of inventory for certain “doctors only” lenses and differences in the Company’s cancelled order percentage.

For fiscal year 2005, net sales and operating income for the Company’s US retail business were $219.6 million and $15.4 million, respectively, compared to net sales of $204.4 million and operating income of $11.6 million for fiscal 2004.

The gross margin for the US retail business decreased to 38.4% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 from 41.4% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004 and to 39.4% for fiscal 2005 from 40.2% for fiscal 2004.

For the US retail business, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, other selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales increased to 21.0% from 19.0%