MAY-17-2010

VALSPAR REPORTS SECOND-QUARTER RESULTS

Company Raises FY 2010 Guidance

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 17, 2010 - The Valspar Corporation (NYSE-VAL) today reported its results for the second-quarter ended April 30, 2010.

Second-quarter sales totaled $803.6 million, a 20.2 percent increase from the same period last year. Second-quarter adjusted net income per share increased 69 percent to $0.61 in 2010 from $0.36 in 2009. Second-quarter adjusted net income per share for 2009 excludes a $0.05 per share charge related to restructuring actions and a non-cash adjustment of $0.03 per share for Huarun minority interest shares. Net income for the second quarter of 2010 was $61.7 million. Net income for the second quarter of 2009 was $31.1 million and reported earnings per share were $0.28.

"Sales increased significantly in all regions in both our Paints and Coatings segments, with core growth and new business contributing to the improvement," said William L. Mansfield, Valspar chairman and chief executive officer. "Volume growth in combination with operating discipline and tight control of expenses were the main drivers of our earnings performance. Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, we are increasing our earnings guidance to reflect the benefit of demand recovery tempered by the challenging raw material environment. We now expect to deliver fiscal year 2010 adjusted net income per share in the range of $2.10 to $2.25, excluding restructuring charges."

William L. Mansfield, Gary E. Hendrickson, president and chief operating officer, and Lori A. Walker, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will conduct a conference call for investors at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) today. The call can be heard live over the Internet at Valspar's website at www.valsparglobal.com under Investor Relations. Those unable to participate during the live broadcast can access an archive of the call on the Valspar website. A taped delay of the call will also be available from 12:30 p.m. Central Time May 17 through Midnight on May 31 by dialing 1-800-475-6701 from within the U.S. or 320-365-3844 from outside of the U.S., using access code 156555.

Investor Contact: Tyler Treat, (612) 851-7358

Media Contact: Mike Dougherty, (612) 851-7802