MANCHESTER - Lydall swung back to a profit for its first quarter, boosted by a strong performance from its specialty filtration business and the start up of its new meltblown line in the US.
The company reported net sales of $227.1 million, up 13.3% compared to the same quarter in 2020, while net income was $5.1 million, up from a loss of $56,421 12 months ago.
Outlining the results, Sara A. Greenstein, president and chief executive officer said the company had delivered another very strong quarter led by sales growth and sequential margin expansion in every business segment. "We continue to execute on our strategic roadmap and leverage our strong product portfolio to deliver measurable results as we help our customers win,” she said.
Specialty filtration sales at Lydall rose sharply as the company's new fine fibre meltblown production line in Rochester, New Hampshire began producing media at full capacity early in the quarter. This was complemented by a strong demand for sealing solutions and specialty insulation products in the Group's Performance Materials business. Speciality filtration sales grew 32.7% or $8.5 million, with sales of sealing and advanced solutions products up 14.4%. “Incremental fine fibre meltblown capacity at Rochester and St. Rivalain, France remains on schedule for full production rates in early third quarter, which we expect to contribute to strong growth and further margin expansion," Greenstein added.
Lydall’s Technical Nonwovens (TNW) segment saw sales growth of 7.4%, led by strong growth in Canada and China with a favorable mix and productivity driving EBITDA margin expansion both year over year and sequentially.
“Our strategy is delivering results," Greenstein said. "As we focus on the Grow and Differentiate phase, we see continued robust demand in 2021 across all of the key end markets that leverage Lydall’s diverse product portfolio. In addition, our strong innovation pipeline addresses the megatrends driving the post-pandemic global economic rebound. Specialty filtration solutions that address enhanced indoor air quality requirements will accelerate with the completion of Lydall’s innovation focused Filtration Center of Excellence. Stricter industrial emission regulations will drive continued demand for higher performance outdoor air quality solutions.
She continued: "Recent announcements related to domestic infrastructure investment are also expected to benefit our geosynthetics business, while accelerated EV adoption leverages Lydall’s deep OEM customer partnerships and engineering expertise in vehicle light-weighting, thermal management, and acoustical abatement products.
