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Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. Receives Audit Opinion Containing

"Going Concern" Qualification
WASHINGTON, NC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/01/08 --

In accordance with Section 610(b) of the American Stock Exchange Company

Guide, Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. (AMEX: FPB) (the "Company")

today announced that the audit report of its independent registered

public accounting firm, Gregory & Associates LLC, included in Company's

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, while

expressing an unqualified opinion regarding the Company's audited

financial statements, identified matters which the audit report stated

raised substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a

going concern. The Company discussed its plans to address those matters

in Note 15 to the financial statements included in the Form 10-K.

The Company's announcement was required by the American Stock Exchange's

rules and does not represent any change or amendment to the Company's

fiscal 2008 financial statements or to its Annual Report on Form 10-K,

which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September

29, 2008.

About Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc.

Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. has its executive offices and

manufacturing facilities along the Pamlico River in Beaufort County, North

Carolina. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Fountain

Powerboats, Inc., designs, manufactures and sells offshore sport boats,

sport fishing boats and express cruisers that target the segment of the

recreational power boat market where speed, performance, safety and

quality are the main criteria for purchase. These recreational boats are

based upon an innovative, award-winning design enabling world class

performance while using standard reliable power. There are currently 12

buildings located on 65 acres totaling over 237,000 square feet,

accommodating 40 to 45 boats in various stages of construction at any one

time. The present plant site can also accommodate up to 300,000 square

feet of additional manufacturing space. The land and buildings are wholly

owned by Fountain Powerboat Industries, Inc. and its subsidiary, Fountain

Powerboats, Inc. For more information, visit www.fountainpowerboats.com.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report contains forward-looking as defined in the Private

Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are

statements concerning our plans, strategies, economic performance and

trends, projections of results of specific activities or investments,

expectations or beliefs about future events or results, and other

statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, and they may

include words such as "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "believe,"

"may," "should," "could" or "estimate," or similar terms or the negative

of these terms, or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of

our management about future events. These statements involve certain

risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ

materially from our historical results or expectations expressed or

implied by the statements as of the date of this filing. The potential

risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our inability to

fully implement plans and strategies to restore the Company's profitable

operations and continue as a going concern or in the Plan that, as

previously reported, we submitted to the American Stock Exchange to

regain compliance with requirements for the continued listing of the

Company's common stock; delays and unexpected costs for beginning

construction of Baja boats; higher than expected costs to build boats;

defects in acquired assets; lower than expected future market demand for

Baja and Fountain boats; the volatile and competitive nature of the

industry; the level of market interest rates; changes in general economic

conditions and in the marine industry; and changes in domestic and

international market conditions, foreign exchange rates and pressures on

lenders related to current and future problems in credit markets.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the

forward-looking statements in this report are reasonable, they represent

our management's judgments only as of the date they are made. Caution

should be taken not to place undue reliance on the Company's

forward-looking statements because we cannot guarantee future results,

events, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company

undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking

statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or

otherwise. All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly

qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this

paragraph. Further information on the factors and risks that could affect

our business, financial condition and results of operations are discussed

in reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission which are

available at (http://www.sec.gov).

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Irving L. Smith

Chief Financial Officer

252.975.7004

[email protected]