Nordson Reports Q3 Fiscal 2023 Results and Narrows Annual Guidance

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Nordson Corporation reported results for the fiscal third quarter ended July 31, 2023. Sales were $649 million, a 2% decrease compared to the prior year’s third quarter sales of $662 million. The decrease in third quarter 2023 sales includes an organic decrease of 5%, partially offset by a favorable acquisition impact. The organic sales decrease was driven by ongoing pressure in electronics, primarily semiconductor dispense applications, and biopharma end markets, offset by strong growth in medical interventional solutions and polymer processing product lines.

Operating profit in the third quarter was $171 million. Adjusted operating profit, excluding $8 million in non-recurring acquisition costs plus severance costs, totaled $181 million, or 28% of sales, compared to prior year adjusted operating profit of $188 million. The 4% decrease in adjusted operating profit was driven by lower sales volume. EBITDA for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 totaled $208 million, or 32% of sales.

Net income was $128 million, or $2.22 of earnings per diluted share. Adjusted net income was $136 million, a $9 million decrease from the prior year earnings of $144 million. Third quarter 2023 adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.35, a 6% decrease from the prior year adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.49. The decrease was driven by increased interest expense and lower operating profit.

“During the fiscal third quarter, our team delivered strong profitability with 32% EBITDA and solid cash flow against persisting demand weakness in electronics and biopharma end markets. The team remains focused on the execution of our Ascend strategy to achieve top tier growth with leading margins and returns, as evidenced by the recently announced acquisition of ARAG and the steadfast deployment of the NBS Next growth framework. We are looking forward to the recovery of our cyclical end markets and the related incremental earnings power associated with the growth,” said Sundaram Nagarajan, president and chief executive officer.

Third Quarter Segment Results

Industrial Precision Solutions sales of $338 million decreased 1% from the prior year. The decrease was driven primarily by product assembly and nonwovens product lines in Asia Pacific, partially offset by continued strength in the polymer processing product lines. Operating profit in the quarter was $115 million, or 34% of sales, a 4% decrease from the prior year third quarter. The decrease in operating profit was driven by lower sales volume and changes in sales mix.

Medical and Fluid Solutions sales of $171 million decreased 4% compared to the prior year third quarter. The decrease was driven by continued softness in the medical fluid components and fluid solutions product lines, partially offset by strong double-digit demand for medical interventional solutions product lines. Operating profit was $54 million, or 32% of sales, a decrease of 11% compared to the prior year third quarter adjusted operating profit. The decreased segment profitability continued to be impacted by lower sales volume and sales mix changes within medical product lines.

Advanced Technology Solutions sales of $140 million decreased 3% compared to the prior year third quarter, as the favorable acquisition impact of 11% was more than offset by a decrease in organic sales of 13%. The organic sales decrease was driven by electronics dispense products serving semiconductor end markets, predominantly in Asia Pacific, slightly offset by continued growth in test and inspection product lines. Operating profit was $27 million. Adjusted operating profit, which excludes severance costs, totaled $29 million, or 21% of sales, an increase of 3% compared to the prior year third quarter operating profit. The improvement in operating profit was driven by favorable sales mix and realization of cost savings actions.

Outlook 

Backlog entering the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 remains strong at $890 million and continues to be heavily weighted toward systems and medical interventional solutions. Order entry has been steady throughout the quarter. Based on current visibility, we expect fourth quarter sales to be the strongest of the year, increasing low-mid single digits over the prior year fourth quarter. This increase includes approximately $20-$30 million of sales from the acquisition of the ARAG Group, which is forecasted to close in late August. On balance, the Company is narrowing its previously issued full-year revenue growth guidance to 0% to 2% over record fiscal 2022 and adjusted earnings guidance to the range of $8.90 to $9.05.