WESTLAKE, OH -- Nordson today reported fiscal fourth quarter sales at its Advanced Technology Systems segment increased 32% over a year ago on a big jump in organic volumes.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the unit saw organic volume rise 30 percentage points, led by demand for automated and semiautomated dispensing products. Growth was positive in nearly all geographies, particularly Asia Pacific and Japan. Operating margin improved nine percentage points over the prior year period to 26%.

The Advanced Technology Systems segment includes Asymtek, Dage, YesTech and other electronics brands.

Sales volume in the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment improved 3% compared to the fourth quarter a year ago. “The three percent organic growth is solid performance, especially in comparison to a robust quarter a year ago. Our general product assembly, rigid packaging, and nonwovens product lines led the growth in the current quarter. Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States were the strongest regions,” said Michael F. Hilton, Nordson president and chief executive. “Reported operating margin in this segment was 24% in the fourth quarter, or 26% on a normalized basis to exclude one-time items related to previously announced restructuring activities."

Overall company sales were $509 million, up 14% from the prior year on organic volume growth of 13 percentage points and a one point increase related to the first-year effect of the LinkTech Quick Couplings acquisition. Effects of currency translation were not material. Operating profit was $111 million, up from $76 million, and net income rose 52% to $76 million. Free cash flow in the quarter before dividends was $121 million.

Backlogs at quarter's end were approximately $274 million, an increase of 20% compared to a year ago, with less than 1% of the increase due to the LinkTech acquisition.

“Nordson generated record sales in the quarter, driven by the value we bring our customers, the diverse and resilient end markets we serve, and the hard work of our global team,” Hilton said. “We leveraged the increased volume and our ongoing continuous improvement initiatives to improve fourth quarter operating margin by five percentage points compared to the prior year to 22%, or 23% on a normalized basis to exclude one-time items,” Hilton added. For the year, sales were $1.81 billion, up 7% over a year ago. The increase included organic volume growth of 7 percentage points and a two percentage point increase related to first-year effects of acquisitions, offset in part by a two percentage point loss related to currency effects. Full-year operating profit was $388 million, up 22%, and net income was up 29% to $272 million. “Given the weak macroeconomic environment, we entered the year focused on driving our growth initiatives and improving operating margin. Our team did an outstanding job delivering on both of these goals,” said Hilton.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2017, Nordson expects sales to increase 4% to 8% compared to the first quarter a year ago. Organic volumes are expected to rise 6% to 10%.

“Our first quarter outlook is very positive, reflecting our improved backlog, current 12 week order rates, typical seasonality, and comparisons to the prior year where organic growth was modest,” said Hilton. “Order rates are strong in all three segments, particularly in Advanced Technology where customers in electronics and medical end markets continue to respond to our technology and application expertise.”

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