Exhibit 99.1

RICHARDSON ELECTRONICS REPORTS FIRST QUARTER FISCAL 2012

RESULTS AND DECLARES CASH DIVIDEND

Cash and Investments of $184.7 million

Share repurchases of $7.7 million

LaFox, IL, October 5, 2011: Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (NASDAQ: RELL) today reported sales and earnings for its first quarter ended September 3, 2011. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors declared a $0.05 quarterly cash dividend.

Q1 Sales Up 10.7%

Net sales for the first quarter of Fiscal 2012 were $41.5 million, up 10.7% from net sales of $37.5 million during the first quarter of last year. Gross profit for the first quarter of Fiscal 2012 was $12.7 million, compared to $11.4 million during the first quarter of Fiscal 2011. Operating expenses for the first quarter of Fiscal 2012 were $10.8 million, compared to $10.5 million during the first quarter of Fiscal 2011.

Operating income during the first quarter of fiscal 2012 was $2.0 million, or 4.8% of net sales, compared to operating income of $0.8 million, during the first quarter of last year.

Income from continuing operations for the first quarter of Fiscal 2012 was $1.0 million, or $.06 per diluted common share, compared to income from continuing operations of $0.5 million, or $.03 per diluted common share during the first quarter of last year.

“We have taken the appropriate actions to reduce our cost structure. We anticipate our sales volume will continue to grow throughout the balance of the year enabling us to better leverage our costs. Historically first quarter sales volume is the lowest quarter in our fiscal year and are pleased that we achieved a 4.8% operating margin. We expect our operating margin rate to improve as we progress through Fiscal 2012,” said Edward J. Richardson, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY — FIRST QUARTER

1

CASH USED FOR SHARE REPURCHASES

“Total cash and investments at the end of the first quarter was $184.7 million, plus an additional $8.3 million in prepaid taxes. We used $7.7 million in cash to repurchase 577,297 shares during the first quarter of fiscal 2012, bringing our total number of shares repurchased to 1.4 million under our existing share repurchase authorization. With our strong balance sheet, we are committed to returning value to our shareholders through a combination of cash dividends, continued share repurchases and investments in our growth initiatives,” said Mr. Richardson.

As of today, approximately $31.0 million remains under the existing share repurchase authorization. Share repurchases may be made on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions and trading restrictions. This authorization has no expiration and may be cancelled at any time.

OUTLOOK

“EDG continues to benefit from solid demand within the global manufacturing sector as well as the incremental volume related to a strategic distribution agreement. Our strategy to focus on OEMs and capitalize on our existing customer relationships is generating new, long-term opportunities for Canvys. Finally, the recent acquisition of Powerlink creates the foundation for our expansion into technical service centers which allows us to expand our share of the $1 billion microwave tube market. It also allows us to provide technical assistance to our power grid tube customers that do not have the capability to service their own equipment which will help us increase power grid tube and related electronic component sales. This is an integral part of our long-term growth strategy,” said Mr. Richardson.

“We expect that sales for EDG and Canvys for the second quarter will be in the range of $42 million to $44 million. Sales for Fiscal 2012 should be in the range of $170 to $175 million, up 7% to 10% over Fiscal 2011. We remain confident that we will be able to achieve our 5% operating margin target for the year,” concluded Mr. Richardson.

2

CASH DIVIDEND

The Company also announced today that its Board of Directors voted to declare a $0.05 dividend per share to all holders of common stock and a $0.045 cash dividend per share to all holders of Class B common stock. The dividend will be payable on November 18, 2011, to all common stockholders of record on November 4, 2011. The Company currently has 14,070,480 outstanding shares of common stock and 2,939,961 outstanding shares of Class B common stock.

CHANGES TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

On October 4, 2011, Paul J. Plante was elected to the board of directors. Mr. Plante replaces John Peterson who has resigned from the board. Mr. Plante has provided business consulting services to the electronics industry since 2008. Prior to that, he served in executive management positions including president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Reptron Electronics, Inc., a publicly held distributor of electronic components and provider of electronics manufacturing services.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

On Thursday, October 6, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. CT, Edward J. Richardson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Kathleen S. Dvorak, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call to discuss the Company’s first quarter results for Fiscal 2012. A question and answer session will be included as part of the call’s agenda. To listen to the call, please dial 888-482-0024 and enter passcode 96539038 approximately five minutes prior to the start of the call. A replay of the call will be available beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT on October 6, 2011, for seven days. The telephone numbers for the replay are (USA) 888-286-8010 and (International) 617-801-6888; access code 69606153.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release includes certain “forward-looking” statements as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release regarding the Company’s business which are not historical facts represent “forward-looking” statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on July 22, 2011. The Company assumes no responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

ABOUT RICHARDSON ELECTRONICS, LTD.

Richardson Electronics, Ltd. is a leading global provider of engineered solutions, power grid and microwave tubes and related consumables, and customized display solutions serving customers in the RF and microwave communications, military, marine, aviation, industrial, scientific and medical markets. Utilizing its core engineering and manufacturing capabilities, the Company’s strategy is to provide specialized technical expertise and “engineered solutions.” The Company provides solutions and adds value through design-in support, systems integration, prototype design and manufacturing, testing, logistics, and

3

aftermarket technical service and repair. More information is available online at www.rell.com.

Richardson Electronics common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol RELL.

4

Richardson Electronics, Ltd.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

5

Richardson Electronics, Ltd.

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income

and Comprehensive Income

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

6

Richardson Electronics, Ltd.

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands)

7

Richardson Electronics, Ltd.

Net Sales and Gross Profit

For the First Quarter of Fiscal 2012 and Fiscal 2011

(in thousands)

By Strategic Business Unit:

Net Sales

Gross Profit

8