Delta Apparel Begins Offshore Textile Manufacturing Initiative; Expected to Result in Approximately $7 million in Annual Savings by FY09

DULUTH, Ga., Aug 18, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Delta Apparel Inc. (AMEX: DLA) announced today that the Company plans to open Ceiba Textiles, a state-of-the-art offshore textile manufacturing plant. The 300,000 square foot facility will be located in the Green Valley Industrial Park in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The facility will knit, dye, finish, cut and sew fabrics into apparel, primarily for the Activewear segment of the business. The Company expects the facility will be completed during fiscal year 2007 and production will begin during the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. The Company expects production to build to 500,000 pounds per week during fiscal year 2008 and increase to one million pounds per week in fiscal year 2009. Ceiba Textiles is expected to result in pre-tax savings of approximately $1 million in fiscal year 2008 and at full capacity is expected to result in pre-tax savings of $7 million annually.

The Company expects the total capital investment in Ceiba Textiles to be approximately $25 million, which includes the cost of constructing the building. Delta Apparel will be leasing the building from the Green Valley Industrial Park. In addition to transferring some existing equipment from the United States to Honduras, the Company expects to invest approximately $15 million over the next three years in new equipment for the facility. The new capital is expected to be financed through a local Honduran bank.

Robert W. Humphreys, President and CEO commented, "We are excited to be expanding our operations in Honduras. We are expecting healthy demand for our apparel products over the next several years and believe the opening of Ceiba Textiles will allow us to meet the ongoing needs of our customer base and improve our cost structure. We are focused on maintaining our competitive position and are committed to maintaining efficient, low-cost manufacturing operations."

Mr. Humphreys concluded, "Our record results released today are indicative of the strong demand in all of our product areas. As we look ahead, we continue to focus on initiatives that will grow our business, improve our margins, and maintain our position as a leading producer of high quality knit apparel."

About Delta Apparel, Inc.

Delta Apparel, Inc., along with its wholly owned subsidiaries, M. J. Soffe Co. and Junkfood Clothing Company, is a marketer, designer, manufacturer and distributor of high quality branded and private label apparel. We specialize in selling a variety of casual and athletic tops and bottoms, embellished and unembellished T-shirts, and fleece products for the ever-changing apparel market. We focus on our broad distribution of products, selling our products to specialty and boutique stores, high-end and mid-tier retail stores, sporting goods stores, screen printers and private label accounts. In addition, certain products are sold in college bookstores and to the U.S. Military. Our operations are in the United States, Honduras, and Mexico and we employ approximately 3,900 worldwide. Additional information on our company is available at www.deltaapparel.com.

Statements and other information in this press release that are not reported financial results or other historical information are forward-looking statements. These are based on our expectations and are necessarily dependent upon assumptions, estimates and data that we believe are reasonable and accurate but may be incorrect, incomplete or imprecise. Forward-looking statements are also subject to a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties include, among others, changes in the retail demand for apparel products, changes in fashion, the cost of raw materials and energy, competitive conditions in the apparel and textile industries, the relative strength of the United States dollar as against other currencies, changes in United States trade regulations, the discovery of unknown conditions (such as with respect to environmental matters and similar items) and other risks described from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, any forward-looking statements do not purport to be predictions of future events or circumstances and may not be realized. We do not undertake publicly to update or revise the forward-looking statements even if it becomes clear that any projected results will not be realized.

SOURCE: Delta Apparel Inc.

Delta Apparel
Deb Merrill, 864-232-5200 x6621
or
Investor Relations
ICR, Inc.
Bill Zima, 203-682-8200

Released August 18, 2006