Nordson Corporation Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results and Second Quarter Guidance

First Quarter Highlights:

• Sales were $615 million, a decrease of 2.8% year-over-year
• Earnings per diluted share were $1.65
• Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.06
• Backlog grew 15% during the quarter

Nordson Corporation (Nasdaq: NDSN) today reported results for the fiscal first quarter ended January 31, 2025. Sales were $615 million, compared to the prior year’s first quarter sales of $633 million. The first quarter 2025 sales included a favorable acquisition impact of 8%, offset by an organic sales decrease of 9% and unfavorable currency translation of 2%.

Net income was $95 million, or $1.65 of earnings per diluted share, compared to prior year’s first quarter net income of $110 million, or $1.90 of earnings per diluted share. First quarter adjusted net income was $118 million versus prior year adjusted net income of $128 million. First quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.06, a 7% decrease from the prior year adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.21.

EBITDA in the first quarter was $188 million, or 31% of sales, a decrease of 4% compared to prior year EBITDA of $197 million, also at 31% of sales.

Commenting on the Company’s fiscal 2025 first quarter results, Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer Sundaram Nagarajan said, “We experienced weakness across multiple end markets as we exited calendar year 2024, resulting in sales performance at the low end of our guidance range for our first fiscal quarter. However, we were encouraged to see broad order entry acceleration during the quarter, and backlog grew by approximately $85 million. Despite weaker sales, our teams performed well operationally and delivered earnings in line with our guidance mid-point. Overall, I am pleased with this solid execution in the face of dynamic market conditions, and we are positioned for growth as end market demand improves.”

First Quarter Segment Results

Industrial Precision Solutions sales of $300 million decreased 11% from the prior year, inclusive of an organic sales decrease of 8% and unfavorable currency translation of 3%. The organic sales decrease was driven primarily by weaker systems demand in polymer processing and industrial coatings product lines, which was partially offset by growth in systems and parts demand for adhesive product lines. Operating profit was $96 million, a decrease of $13 million from the prior year, reflecting the impact of lower volumes. EBITDA in the quarter was $113 million, or 38% of sales, a 10% decrease from the prior year first quarter EBITDA of $126 million, or 37% of sales.

Medical and Fluid Solutions sales of $194 million increased 21% compared to the prior year first quarter, inclusive of an acquisition impact of 33%, partially offset by an organic decline of 11% and unfavorable currency translation of 1%. The organic sales decrease was driven by lower demand and tough year-over-year comparisons in the medical interventional solutions product line, where customer destocking trends continued to impact demand. Operating profit was $41 million, a decrease of $5 million from the prior year, reflecting contribution from the Atrion acquisition offset by lower organic demand. EBITDA in the quarter was $64 million, or 33% of sales, up 7% versus the prior year first quarter EBITDA of $60 million, or 37% of sales.

Advanced Technology Solutions sales of $121 million decreased 11% compared to the prior year first quarter, driven by lower organic sales of 10% and unfavorable currency translation of 1%. The organic sales decrease compared to prior year was driven by lower systems deliveries in electronics processing and x-ray product lines, partially offset by growth in optical sensors and measurement and control product lines. Operating profit was flat year-over-year at $18 million despite lower sales due to strategic cost reduction actions and manufacturing footprint optimization actions. EBITDA in the quarter was $23 million, or 19% of sales, unchanged from the prior year first quarter EBITDA of $23 million, or 17% of sales.

Effective November 1, 2024, the Measurement and Control Solutions (MCS) division, formally reported as part of the IPS segment, has been realigned to the ATS segment based on an assessment of our portfolio. Our segment reporting reflects this change and prior year financial information was revised to be comparable. See the appendix to this release for comparative segment data by quarter for 2024.

Outlook

The Company entered the second quarter with approximately $670 million in backlog, up approximately $85 million or 15% from the start of the year. Order entry continued to improve throughout the quarter. Based on current visibility and order entry trends, the Company expects second quarter fiscal 2025 sales to be in the range of $650 to $690 million. Second quarter adjusted earnings are forecasted to be in the range of $2.30 to $2.50 per diluted share.

Reflecting on the outlook, Nagarajan continued, “Even as macroeconomic conditions remain choppy, the momentum in order entry, strength of our diversified portfolio and NBS Next competitive advantages give us confidence that we are well positioned for growth as end market uncertainties abate and capital investment demand improves throughout 2025. We have demonstrated the ability to deliver best-in-class profitability in varying market scenarios, while remaining invested in the long-term growth priorities of the Company.”

Nordson management will provide additional commentary on these results and outlook during its previously announced webcast on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. eastern time, which can be accessed at https://investors.nordson.com. Information about Nordson’s investor relations and shareholder services is available from Lara Mahoney, vice president, investor relations and corporate communications at (440) 204-9985 or lara.mahoney@nordson.com.

The Company’s definition of adjusted earnings excludes acquisition related amortization for both current and historical periods. It is not possible for the Company to identify the amount or significance of future adjustments associated with acquisition and integration costs, restructuring costs, acquisition-related amortization, certain non-operating or income tax items, or other non-routine costs that the Company adjusts in the presentation of adjusted earnings guidance. These items are dependent on future events that are not reasonably estimable at this time. Accordingly, the Company is unable to reconcile without unreasonable effort the forecasted range of adjusted earnings guidance to a comparable GAAP range.

Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “continue,” “target,” or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. These statements reflect management’s current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, U.S. and international economic conditions; financial and market conditions; currency exchange rates and devaluations; possible acquisitions, including the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; the Company’s ability to successfully divest or dispose of businesses that are deemed not to fit with its strategic plan; the effects of changes in U.S. trade policy and trade agreements; the effects of changes in tax law; and the possible effects of events beyond our control, such as political unrest, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, acts of terror, natural disasters and pandemics, including the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the other factors discussed in Item 1A (Risk Factors) in the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its Forms 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which should be reviewed carefully. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release.

Nordson Corporation is an innovative precision technology company that leverages a scalable growth framework through an entrepreneurial, division-led organization to deliver top tier growth with leading margins and returns. The Company’s direct sales model and applications expertise serves global customers through a wide variety of critical applications. Its diverse end market exposure includes consumer non-durable, medical, electronics and industrial end markets. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, the Company has operations and support offices in over 35 countries. Visit Nordson on the web at www.nordson.com, linkedin/Nordson, or www.facebook.com/nordson.

Management uses certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted net income, adjusted EPS and EBITDA, internally to make strategic decisions, forecast future results, and evaluate the Company's current performance. Given management's use of these non-GAAP measures, the Company believes these measures are important to investors in understanding the Company's current and future operating results as seen through the eyes of management. In addition, management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in enabling them to better assess changes in the Company's core business across different time periods. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures to other companies' non-GAAP financial measures, even if they have similar names. Amounts may not add due to rounding.

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