JASPER, IN – Kimball Electronics reported fiscal first quarter net sales of $331.7 million, up 5.9% year-over-year. Foreign currency had a favorable 1% impact on net sales compared to the same period a year ago.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, net income was $16.8 million, an increase of 154.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Operating income was $17.8 million, up 60.2%.

“We are very pleased with the operating results we delivered in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021,” said chairman and CEO Donald D. Charron. “We set new quarterly records for sales, as well as operating income, net income, and diluted EPS, while generating strong cash flow from operations for the second consecutive quarter. Our sales in our medical vertical increased 25% compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2020 and were up 3% sequentially for a new quarterly record. We expect the sales in our medical vertical to normalize and begin to approximate pre-Covid-19 run rates during the second quarter of fiscal year 2021. Sales in our automotive vertical continued to gain momentum during the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, increasing 61% from the previous quarter, down just 5% from the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. We expect the sales in our automotive vertical will return to pre-Covid-19 levels in the second quarter and steadily increase throughout fiscal year 2021.

“Beyond our excellent financial results, we never lost sight of the fact that the health and safety of our employees remains our number one priority, and we continue to make every effort to keep our facilities safe. The number of our employees testing positive for Covid-19 has been kept at a low level, and disruptions have been kept to a minimum. Because of the disciplined response and extraordinary effort of our people around the world, we were able to perform our mission as an essential business and support the significant increases from our medical customers for their respiratory care and patient monitoring products.”

Cash and cash equivalents were $73.4 million, and borrowings outstanding on credit facilities were $110.5 million at Sept. 30, including $91.5 million classified as long term.