Nordson Reports Strong Q4, Record Fiscal Year 2022 Results

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Nordson Corporation reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31, 2022. Sales were $684 million, a 14% increase compared to the prior year’s fourth quarter sales of $599 million. The increase in fourth quarter 2022 sales included 18% organic volume growth, a favorable 4% acquisition impact and unfavorable currency translation of 8%. Organic sales growth was strong in virtually all end markets, and particularly robust for electronics and medical.

Operating profit in the quarter was $178 million, or 26% of sales, a 17% increase compared to the prior year operating profit of $151 million. Sales volume leverage drove the quarterly increase. EBITDA in the quarter totaled $202 million, or 30% of sales, and represents an increase of 14% from the prior year EBITDA of $177 million.

Net income was $141 million, a 28% increase compared to the prior year earnings of $110 million. Fourth quarter diluted earnings per share were $2.44, a 30% increase over the prior year earnings of $1.88 per diluted share.

Commenting on the Company’s fiscal 2022 fourth quarter results, Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer Sundaram Nagarajan said, “Once again, our teams responded to the broad-based demand of our customers and delivered a strong fourth quarter sales and operating performance. This is the second consecutive time that we have broken our quarterly sales record, despite significant currency headwinds. This is a testament to the execution of our Ascend strategy, as well as the resilience of our winning teams.”

Fourth Quarter Segment Results

Industrial Precision Solutions sales of $356 million increased 13% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by a 16% organic sales increase and a favorable acquisition impact of 7%, partially offset by an unfavorable currency impact of 10%. The organic sales increase was driven by robust demand in nearly all end markets with particularly strong system sales in the Americas and Europe. Operating profit totaled $110 million in the quarter, or 31% of sales, an increase of 8% compared to the prior year operating profit.

Medical and Fluid Solutions sales of $181 million increased 11% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by an organic sales increase of 15% that was partially offset by an unfavorable currency impact of 4%. Organic sales growth was driven by strong demand for medical fluid components and interventional solutions product lines. Operating profit totaled $52 million in the quarter, or 29% of sales, an increase of 2% compared to the prior year operating profit.

Advanced Technology Solutions sales of $147 million increased 21% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by an organic sales increase of 28% that was partially offset by an unfavorable currency impact of 7%. Organic sales growth was very strong in test and inspection systems, plus double-digit growth in electronics dispense product lines. Operating profit totaled $38 million in the quarter, or 26% of sales, an increase of 131% compared to the prior year operating profit.

“Our fourth quarter 2022 performance was a strong finish to a record year with double-digit organic sales growth in nearly all end markets. It was a dynamic quarter with increasing currency headwinds, continued inflationary pressure and a less favorable sales mix pressuring gross margins; however, the strong volume growth and related leverage still delivered targeted organic incremental operating profit margins of 43%. We remain focused on passing along price increases to offset inflation and executing the Ascend strategy to drive profitable growth,” said Nordson Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Joseph Kelley.

Fiscal 2022 Full Year Results

Sales for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2022 were $2.6 billion, an increase of 10% compared to the same period a year ago. This sales growth was driven by an 11% increase in organic volume and a favorable acquisition impact of 3%, partially offset by an unfavorable currency impact of 4%. Full year operating profit was $702 million. Net income was $513 million and diluted earnings per share were $8.81.

Adjusted operating profit, excluding non-recurring acquisition and facility consolidation costs, was $707 million, or 27% of sales, an increase of 15% compared to prior year adjusted operating profit. Adjusted net income, excluding the non-cash pension annuitization charge and other non-recurring costs, was $550 million, a 21% increase compared to the prior year adjusted net income of $454 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $9.43, a 22% increase over the prior year earnings of $7.74 per diluted share.

Mr. Nagarajan continued, “Reflecting on fiscal 2022, Nordson employees managed through supply chain constraints, increasing currency pressures, COVID-19 shutdowns and labor challenges. Throughout it all, they remained true to our core values, including excellence, energy and respect for people, while innovating and solving complex problems for our customers. We have added to this differentiating set of core capabilities, our NBS Next growth framework, which has guided our choices and helped us prioritize our efforts and resources this year. Our record performance is the result. As we transition into fiscal 2023, we remain focused on meeting the needs of our customers and expanding the practice of the NBS Next growth framework deeper in the organization to enable us to deliver top tier growth with leading margins and returns.”

Outlook

Following two consecutive years of record setting performance and a strong finish to fiscal 2022, we enter fiscal 2023 with approximately $1 billion in backlog, inclusive of the acquired CyberOptics backlog. The book-to-bill in the fourth quarter of 2022 was slightly unfavorable and the year-over-year currency headwinds are significant as evidenced in our fiscal fourth quarter results.

Based on the combination of order entry, backlog, customer delivery timing requests and current exchange rates, we anticipate delivering sales growth in the range of 1% to 7% in fiscal 2023 when compared to fiscal 2022. Full year fiscal 2023 earnings are forecasted to be in the range of $8.75 to $10.10 per share. This full year guidance assumes an unfavorable currency impact of approximately 2% on sales and 3% on earnings.

First quarter 2023 sales are forecasted in the range of $605 to $630 million with adjusted earnings in the range of $1.85 to $2.00 per diluted share. Included in the forecasted guidance amounts are the unfavorable currency impacts of approximately 4% on sales and 7% on earnings.