Stewart Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1910 on the principles of quality, value and service. That philosophy still drives our operations today. As the oldest publicly traded death care company in North America, we draw upon 97 years of experience to serve families in the best possible manner. We own and operate funeral homes and cemeteries throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, serving approximately 108,151 families in fiscal 2007.

Our company went public on October 9, 1991, and our common stock is traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol STEI.

Our principal executive offices are located in Jefferson, Louisiana. We currently employ approximately 5,500 employees throughout our funeral homes and cemeteries in 24 states within the United States and Puerto Rico. Our funeral homes and cemeteries are located primarily in the Southern, Western, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-western states, generally in large metropolitan areas. We are the second largest provider of funeral and cemetery products and services in the death care industry in the United States.

Our funeral homes offer a complete range of funeral services and products both at the time of need and on a preneed basis. Our services and products include family consultation, removal and preparation of remains, the use of funeral home facilities for visitation, worship and funeral services, transportation services, flowers and caskets. In addition to traditional funeral services, all of our funeral homes offer cremation products and services.

Our cemetery operations involve the sale of cemetery property and related merchandise, including lots, lawn crypts, family and community mausoleums, monuments, markers and burial vaults, along with the sale of burial site openings and closings and inscriptions. Cemetery property and merchandise sales are made both at the time of need and on a preneed basis.

We believe that we are distinguished from our competitors by our strong emphasis on, and more than 60-year history of experience with, preneed sales and consider it to be an integral part of our long-term business strategy.