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Nordson's Q4 Earnings & Revenues Top Estimates, Increase Y/Y

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Nordson Corporation’s (NDSN - Free Report) fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 (ended Sept. 30, 2024) adjusted earnings of $2.78 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.59. The bottom line increased 2.6% year over year.

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Quarterly Results of NDSN

Nordson’s revenues were $744.5 million, up 4% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s number, driven by solid momentum in the Medical and Fluid Solutions segment. Revenues beat the consensus estimate of $733 million.

Organic sales declined 3% year over year due to softness in the polymer processing and precision agriculture product lines. Acquisitions had a positive impact of 6% while foreign currency translation had a positive impact of 1%. Exiting the fiscal year, the company’s backlog totaled $580 million.

Nordson Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Nordson Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Nordson Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nordson Corporation Quote

On a regional basis, revenues from the Asia Pacific region increased 7.5% year over year to $236 million. Revenues generated from Europe increased 0.6% to $185.4 million, while the metric in the Americas increased 2.4% to $323.2 million.

Nordson reports revenues under three segments. The segments are Industrial Precision Solutions, Medical and Fluid Solutions and Advanced Technology Solutions. A brief snapshot of the segmental sales is provided below:

Revenues from Industrial Precision Solutions amounted to $392.2 million, down 3.3% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level. The segment contributed 52.7% to NDSN’s top line in the quarter.

Organic sales decreased 5.5% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level. Acquisitions boosted sales by 1.2% while foreign currency translation had a positive impact of 1%.

Revenues from Medical and Fluid Solutions amounted to $200.2 million, up 18.7% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level. The segment contributed 26.9% to NDSN’s top line.

Organic sales decreased 3.2% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level. Acquisitions boosted sales by 21.4% while foreign currency translation had a positive impact of 0.5%.

Advanced Technology Solutions’ sales were $152.1 million, up 4.7% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s figure. The metric represented 20.4% of Nordson’s revenues in the period.

Organic sales increased 3.9% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level. Foreign currency translation had a positive impact of 0.8%.

Margin Profile

Nordson’s cost of sales increased 1.9% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level to $341.7 million. Gross profit was $402.8 million, up 4.9% from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level. The gross margin increased 70 basis points (bps) to 54.1%.

Selling and administrative expenses increased 12.5% year over year to $223.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $241.1 million, the margin being 32.4%. Operating income was $178.9 million, down 3.2% year on year. Operating margin of 24% decreased 170 bps from the year-ago period.

Net interest expenses totaled $27.3 million, reflecting a 5.4% increase from the year-ago fiscal quarter’s level.

Nordson’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

At the time of exiting fiscal 2024, Nordson’s cash and cash equivalents were $116 million, marginally higher than $115.7 million recorded at the end of fiscal 2023. Long-term debt was $2.1 billion compared with $1.6 billion recorded at the end of fourth-quarter fiscal 2023.

In fiscal 2024, NDSN generated net cash of $556.2 million from operating activities, down 13.2% from the last fiscal year period’s tally. Capital invested in purchasing property, plant and equipment totaled $64.4 million, up 86.1% from the year-ago fiscal period.

Dividends/Share Buyback

In fiscal 2024, Nordson paid out dividends of $161.4 million, up 7.3% from $150.4 million in the previous fiscal year.

Treasury purchase shares amounted to $33.3 million, down from $89.7 million in the last fiscal year.

NDSN’s Outlook

For fiscal 2025 (ending October 2025), Nordson anticipates adjusted earnings to be in the range of $9.70-$10.50 per share. Sales are expected to be in the range of $2,750-$2,870 million.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2025 (ending January 2025), it projects sales to be in the range of $615-$655 million, with adjusted earnings of $1.95-$2.15 per share.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Nordson currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Here are some better-ranked stocks from the same space:

Graham Corporation (GHM - Free Report) currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

GHM delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 101.9%. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GHM’s fiscal 2025 earnings has increased 8.4%.

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT - Free Report) presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). AIT delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 5%.

In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for AIT’s 2024 earnings has inched up 0.7%.

RBC Bearings (RBC - Free Report) currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. RBC delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 2.5%.

In the past 60 days, the consensus estimate for RBC Bearings’ fiscal 2025 (ending March 2025) earnings has increased 0.5%.

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