WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Nordson Corp. sales and profits for the three months that ended Jan. 31 were up compared to the same quarter a year ago.
In a report released late Tuesday after the stock market closed, the global maker of equipment designed to dispense fluids, powders, coatings and adhesives on production lines, said sales for the quarter were $379 million, up 5 percent from year-ago sales.
The company's top executives were to discuss the results in detail and answer questions from investors and analysts in an 8:30 a.m. public teleconference Wednesday, available live and as a recording on its website. Click here to listen.
Net income, or profit after all expenses, for the three months was $43 million, or 69 cents per share. For the same period a year ago, Nordson's sales were $359 million and net income was $35 million, or 54 cents per share.
The company paid $14 million in quarterly dividends to shareholders at the rate of 22 cents per share in this quarter. That compares to a dividend payout of $11.6 million, at the rate of 18 cents per share a year ago.
Nordson's technologies touch the lives of consumers around the world in the products that they buy. Click here for a snapshot of the company's diverse product line.
The uptick in sales for the quarter occurred throughout the company's divisions and product lines.
It included a 3 percent increase from other companies Nordson bought and merged into its organization at least a year ago, an 8 percent increase in organic sales volume from core Nordson divisions, and a negative 5 percent impact because of the strong dollar and its unfavorable effects when the company translated foreign currency to dollars.
"Nordson's global team delivered excellent first quarter results highlighted by 8 percent organic sales volume growth over the same period a year ago," Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Hilton said in a written statement accompanying the report.
"This organic growth included the majority of our product lines and geographies. Operating margin [income before one-time expenses and taxes, divided by net sales] in the quarter improved by 2 percentage points compared to the prior year," he noted. "And earnings per share grew by 28 percent over the prior year, more than five times the rate of the strong top line growth we generated."
Look ahead, the sales outlook for the second quarter ending April 30 is slightly down, but earnings per share should range between 80 cents and 91 cents per share.
"On a year-over-year basis, we expect currency to remain a significant headwind to revenue and earnings growth, given current exchange rates," Hilton said.
"Excluding this currency translation effect, our underlying business remains sound, even in the challenging global macroeconomic environment. Our 12 week order rates are strong at up 14 percent. Organic volume growth at the midpoint of our forecast is expected to be approximately 1 percent, a level below what you might expect given our current backlog and pace of orders."