Fourth Quarter:

• Sales were $599 million, a 7% year-over-year increase, 10% organic

• Operating profit was $151 million, or 25% of sales

• Earnings were $1.88 per diluted share, an 18% increase from prior year adjusted earnings per share

Full Year:

• Full year sales, operating profit, and earnings per share were all company records

• Sales were $2.4 billion, an 11% year-over-year increase

• Earnings were $7.74 per diluted share, a 41% increase from prior year adjusted earnings per share

2022 Guidance:

• Fiscal 2022 sales growth of 6% to 10% and earnings growth of 8% to 18% over the record fiscal 2021 results

• First quarter 2022 sales growth of 14% to 16% over prior year first quarter; earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.80 to $1.95

Nordson Corporation (Nasdaq: NDSN) today reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31, 2021. Sales were $599 million, a 7% increase compared to the prior year’s fourth quarter sales of $559 million. The increase in fourth quarter 2021 sales included 10% organic volume growth, offset by an unfavorable 4% divestiture impact and favorable currency translation of 1%. Growth was strong in all product lines, particularly electronics and industrial end markets.

Operating profit in the quarter was $151 million, or 25% of sales, a 16% increase compared to the prior year adjusted operating profit of $130 million. Sales volume leverage, in addition to continued benefits from structural cost reduction actions taken in fiscal year 2020 and the divestiture of the screws and barrels product line on February 1, 2021, contributed to the quarterly increase. EBITDA in the quarter totaled $177 million, or 30% of sales, and represents an increase of 11% from the prior year EBITDA of $159 million.

Net income was $110 million, a 19% increase compared to the prior year adjusted earnings of $93 million. Fourth quarter diluted earnings per share were $1.88, an 18% increase over the prior year adjusted earnings of $1.59 per diluted share.

Commenting on the Company’s fiscal fourth quarter 2021 results, Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer Sundaram Nagarajan said, “The fourth quarter was a solid finish to an incredible year, where we surpassed our prior record annual performance in sales by $108 million and in operating profit by $111 million. I am very proud of the Nordson team. This growth was across a broad base of end markets and geographies, as a result of leveraging the NBS Next growth framework to fully participate in the accelerated economic recovery.”

Fourth Quarter Segment Results

Industrial Precision Solutions sales of $314 million increased 2% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by an 8% organic increase, offset by a divestiture impact of 7% and a favorable currency impact of 1%. This organic sales increase was driven by steady demand across the majority of end markets and geographies served. Operating profit totaled $103 million in the quarter, or 33% of sales, an increase of 12% compared to the prior year adjusted operating profit.

Advanced Technology Solutions sales of $285 million increased 14% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by an organic sales increase of 13% and a favorable currency impact of 1%. Sales growth was strong in all end markets during the current year quarter, with particularly high demand for products serving the electronics and medical end markets. Operating profit totaled $67 million in the quarter, or 24% of sales, an increase of 29% compared to the prior year adjusted operating profit.

“Our fourth quarter 2021 performance was very strong with double digit organic growth and incremental operating profit margins of 52%. Looking sequentially, gross margins were impacted by a spike in logistics costs and non-recurring cost increases associated with divisional alignment efforts around best growth opportunities. Pricing actions are being taken to mitigate these negative impacts on gross margin as we move into the first half of 2022,” said Nordson Chief Financial Officer Joseph Kelley.

Fiscal 2021 Full Year Results

Sales for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2021 were $2.4 billion, an increase of 11% compared to the same period a year ago. This increase in sales was driven by an 11% increase in organic volume and a favorable currency impact of 3%, offset by a net unfavorable acquisition and divestiture impact of 3%. Full year operating profit was $615 million, or 26% of sales. Net income for the full year was $454 million and diluted earnings per share were $7.74, a 41% increase from the prior year adjusted diluted earnings per share of $5.48.

Mr. Nagarajan continued, “Looking at the second half of fiscal 2021, we achieved 15% organic sales growth and 36% adjusted profit growth compared to the second half of the prior year. Based on our strong order entry and current backlog, we anticipate carrying this second half of 2021 growth rate into the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Our teams are adapting to a very dynamic macro environment, and they are taking actions to offset cost and supply chain headwinds. The Ascend Strategy with NBS Next at its core will continue to enable us to deliver top tier growth with leading margins and returns.”

Outlook

Backlog entering the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 is approximately $800 million, a 90% increase above the prior year. The current macroeconomic environment continues to drive increased order volume and extended shipment request dates. Based on these order entry trends, backlog, and anticipated sales timing, we expect fiscal 2022 first quarter sales growth to be in the range of 14% to 16% as compared to fiscal 2021 first quarter, with adjusted earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.80 to $1.95.

On a full year basis, we expect fiscal 2022 sales growth to be in the range of 6% to 10%, with adjusted earnings per diluted share growth in the range of 8% to 18%, both as compared to fiscal 2021.

Nordson management will provide additional commentary on these results and outlook during its previously announced webcast on Thursday, December 16, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. eastern time, which can be accessed at https://investors.nordson.com. For persons unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available for 14 days after the event. 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.

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 such 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, acts of terror, natural disasters and pandemics, including the current 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 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, www.twitter.com/Nordson_Corp or www.facebook.com/nordson.

Management uses these non-GAAP measures 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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