WESTLAKE, OH – Nordson reported fiscal fourth quarter sales were $585.5 million, up 2.8% year-over-year.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, sales included an increase of approximately 4% organic volume, growth related to the first year effect of acquisitions of less than 1%, and a decrease related to the unfavorable effect of currency translation compared to the prior year’s fourth quarter of approximately 1%.

Net income for the quarter was $102.7 million, an increase of 18.4% compared to the fiscal fourth quarter of 2018. Operating profit was $139.7 million, up 19.6%.

Backlog for the quarter was approximately $385 million, a decrease of 1% year-over-year.

Adhesive Dispensing Systems sales increased 1% compared to the prior year’s fiscal fourth quarter, inclusive of 3% organic growth and a 2% decrease related to the unfavorable effect of currency translation compared to the prior year.

Advanced Technology Systems sales decreased less than 1% year-over-year, inclusive of a decrease in organic volume of less than 1%, an increase of 1% related to the first year effect of acquisitions, and a decrease of 1% related to the unfavorable effect of currency translation compared to the prior year.

The fourth quarter’s acquisitive growth includes the fiscal 2019 acquisition of Optical Controls.

Industrial Coating Systems sales increased 21% year-over-year, inclusive of an increase in organic volume of 22% and a 1% decrease related to the unfavorable effect of currency translation compared to the prior year.

“I am pleased with the team’s strong execution, as they delivered total company organic sales growth, and each segment improved operating margin over the prior year’s fourth quarter,” said Sundaram Nagarajan, Nordson president and CEO. “Sales growth in the Adhesive Dispensing Systems segment was solid, demonstrating the stability of consumer nondurable end markets. Sales growth within the Advanced Technology Systems segment for product lines serving medical end markets was offset by softness in electronics end markets. With strong backlog entering the fourth quarter, the Industrial Coating Systems segment delivered record sales in the fourth quarter. Our focus on execution and the diversification of our end markets resulted in this solid performance.”

Sales for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31 were $2.2 billion, a decrease of 2.7% year-over-year. This change includes a decrease in organic volume of 1%, growth related to the first-year effect of acquisitions of less than 1%, and a 2% decrease due to the unfavorable effect of currency translation compared to the prior year.

Full-year operating profit was $483.1 million, down 3.9% year-over-year. Net income was $337.1 million, down 10.7%.

“The macroeconomic environment remains challenging, with uncertainty impacting customers’ investment decisions. Our ability to drive full-year organic growth in most product lines demonstrates the resiliency of our end markets and the value we deliver to our customers. Despite the sales decline in fiscal year 2019, our global Nordson team delivered solid results and held operating margin equal to prior-year performance,” said Nagarajan. “We also returned value to our shareholders by distributing $82 million in dividends and investing $115 million for the repurchase of shares during the year.

“We are taking a conservative approach to our outlook for fiscal 2020, as we are not yet seeing any significant improvements in the macroeconomic environment. In addition, we are not yet seeing an increase in order activity for electronics end markets, so we are assuming a flat outlook for these product lines. The resilience of the other end markets we serve, notably consumer nondurables and medical, gives us confidence we will achieve low single-digit organic sales growth in fiscal 2020,” said Nagarajan.

For fiscal 2020, organic sales volume is forecasted to increase in the range of 1 to 3% compared to fiscal 2019.

Nordson is the parent company of Nordson Asymtek, Nordson Dage, Nordson YesTech, Nordson Sonoscan, Nordson EFD, Nordson Select, and Nordson March.

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