Material Sciences’ 2Q sales up on strong demand

PRNewswire

ELK GROVE VILLAGE — Material Sciences Corporation, a provider of material-based solutions for acoustical and coated metal applications, said net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 rose 3.9 percent, thanks to stronger sales of coated metal products.

The company said in a release that net sales for the quarter was $34.4 million, compared to $33.1 million for the same period last year. Sales increased 8.1 percent when the prior-year period is adjusted to remove $1.3 million associated with coil coating assets sold in April 2010.

Net income for the period was $3.0 million, down from last year’s second quarter total of $3.9 million. The prior-year quarter included a $1.9 million gain on sale of the Middletown facility and $0.4 million of shutdown costs related to the coil coating asset sale. Adjusting for the impact of these items, earnings per share in the second quarter of last year would have been 19 cents.

“Our focus over the past few years on right-sizing Material Sciences, operational excellence and introducing new innovative products is continuing to pay dividends as we experienced our sixth consecutive quarter of strong operating performance,” said Clifford D. Nastas, chief executive officer. “During this period, Material Sciences enjoyed accelerating revenue from new products, and posted its best second quarter gross margin performance since fiscal 1997 while maintaining our targets for SG&A spending. In addition, the sale of nonstrategic assets and strong cash generation from our operations has allowed us to both invest in growth strategies and reward shareholders through an active stock repurchase program.”