Nordson Corp., the owner of Xaloy screws and barrels, EDI flat dies and BKG melt delivery products, set company records for sales, operating profit and diluted earnings per share in 2016.
“This is outstanding growth given the challenging macroeconomic environment of 2016,” Gregory Thaxton, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in a conference call to analysts Dec. 14. Nordson issued results for its fiscal 2016, which ended Oct. 31.
Westlake, Ohio-based Nordson generated 2016 sales of $1.81 billion, an increase of 7 percent from 2015 sales of $1.68 billion — all of it from organic sales growth. A 2 percent gain from acquisitions was negated by about a 2 percent impact from currency translation.
Fourth quarter sales of $509 million also are a company record.
Nordson bought LinkTech Quick Couplings Inc., a maker of couplings and fittings for the medical sector — including its own injection molded components — in a deal announced Sept. 1.
Full-year net profit was $271.8 million, a 22 percent gain from 2015.
Nordson President and CEO Michael Hilton said business was solid in all segments, in most regions of the world. And Hilton said 2017 looks good.
“We are encouraged by our order rates we're seeing in all three segments,” he said, adding that Nordson officials remain cautious of the overall macroeconomic environment. They expect first quarter sales to increase from 4 to 8 percent, compared to the first quarter a year ago.
Thaxton said orders for the last 12 weeks are up 16 percent over the same period a year earlier.
The Polymer Processing business is part of Nordson's Adhesives Dispensing Systems segment, which generated a sales increase of 5.2 percent in 2016.
In a move announced Sept. 16, Nordson officials said the company was moving its Xaloy screw and barrel manufacturing into a single manufacturing plant in Austintown, Ohio, near Youngstown. That will involve relocating production from Youngstown, nearby New Castle, Pa., and Pulaski, Va., to the 200,000-square-foot leased plant, over the next 18 months.
“That'll be going on throughout the year,” Hilton said. He told analysts that some of the benefits of the screw and barrel restructuring may stretch into the first quarter of fiscal 2018.
Hilton said 70 percent of Nordson's business comes from outside the United States.
