Kadant Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results and Record Bookings


WESTFORD, Mass., Nov. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI) reported its financial results for the third quarter ended October 2, 2021.

Third Quarter Financial Highlights

  • Bookings increased 71% to a record $245 million.
  • Revenue increased 29% to a record $200 million.
  • Operating cash flow increased 56% to $38 million.
  • Free cash flow increased 53% to $35 million.
  • Net income increased 38% to $20 million.
  • GAAP diluted EPS increased 37% to $1.75.
  • Adjusted diluted EPS increased 50% to $1.97.
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased 36% to $41 million and represented 20.5% of revenue.
  • Backlog was a record $299 million.

Note: Percent changes above are based on comparison to the prior year period. Free cash flow, adjusted diluted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, and changes in organic revenue are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items as detailed later in this press release under the heading “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Management Commentary
“Record revenue combined with excellent execution by our operations teams led to another quarter of strong performance,” said Jeffrey L. Powell, president and chief executive officer of Kadant Inc. “End-market demand was exceptional in the third quarter with record parts demand and robust capital order activity, particularly in our Industrial Processing segment. These results contributed to solid margin performance and improved operating leverage across all our segments.

“Despite an increasingly challenging operating environment resulting from supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures, our global workforce performed extremely well in fulfilling our customer commitments and delivering value. Our end markets continue to show signs of strength as we enter the final quarter of the year and we are well positioned for a strong finish to 2021.”

Third Quarter 2021 compared to 2020
Revenue increased 29 percent to a record $199.8 million compared to $154.6 million in 2020. Organic revenue increased 18 percent, which excludes an eight percent increase from acquisitions and a three percent increase from the favorable effect of foreign currency translation. Gross margin was 41.9 percent, which included a negative 110 basis point impact from the amortization of acquired profit in inventory, compared to 44.2 percent in 2020, which included a positive 110 basis point impact from the receipt of government assistance benefits related to the pandemic.

GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 37 percent to a $1.75 compared to $1.28 in 2020. Adjusted diluted EPS increased 50 percent to $1.97 compared to $1.31 in 2020. Adjusted diluted EPS excludes $0.17 of amortization expense from acquired profit in inventory and backlog and $0.05 of acquisition costs in 2021 and $0.03 of restructuring costs, $0.03 of acquisition-related costs, and a $0.03 discrete tax benefit in 2020. Net income increased 38 percent to $20.5 million compared to $14.9 million in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA increased 36 percent to $40.9 million and 20.5 percent of revenue compared to $30.0 million and 19.4 percent of revenue in the prior year quarter. Operating cash flow increased 56 percent to $37.9 million compared to $24.4 million in 2020.

Bookings increased 71 percent to a record $244.7 million compared to $143.3 million in 2020. Organic bookings increased 57 percent, which excludes a ten percent increase from acquisitions and a four percent increase from the favorable effect of foreign currency translation.

Summary and Outlook
“The strong momentum built up during the first three quarters of 2021 has led to record backlog, and we expect a solid finish to the year," Mr. Powell continued. “While we continue to see strong demand for our products, supply chain constraints, delays in shipments, and the timing of capital orders are moderating our outlook for the fourth quarter. As a result, we are decreasing our revenue expectation to $778 to $783 million for 2021 from our previous range of $783 to $793 million.”

Conference Call
Kadant will hold a webcast with a slide presentation for investors on Wednesday, November 3, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. eastern time to discuss its third quarter performance, as well as future expectations. To access the webcast, including the slideshow and accompanying audio, go to www.kadant.com and click on “Investors.” To listen to the webcast via teleconference, call 888-326-8410 within the U.S., or +1-704-385-4884 outside the U.S. and reference participant passcode 9476904. Prior to the call, our earnings release and the slides used in the webcast presentation will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be available at www.sec.gov. An archive of the webcast presentation will be available on our website until December 3, 2021.

Shortly after the webcast, Kadant will post its updated general investor presentation incorporating the third quarter results on its website at www.kadant.com under the “Investors” section.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including increases or decreases in revenue excluding the effect of acquisitions and foreign currency translation (organic revenue), adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow.

We believe these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our core business, operating results, or future outlook. We believe that the inclusion of such measures helps investors gain an understanding of our underlying operating performance and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts our performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasts and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by us in our financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. We also believe this information is responsive to investors' requests and gives them an additional measure of our performance.
        
The non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release have limitations associated with their use as compared to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, in that they may be different from, and therefore not comparable to, similar measures used by other companies.

Revenue in the third quarter of 2021 included $12.8 million from acquisitions and a $4.6 million favorable foreign currency translation effect. Revenue in the first nine months of 2021 included a $22.2 million favorable foreign currency translation effect and $13.3 million from acquisitions. We present increases or decreases in organic revenue, which excludes the effect of acquisitions and foreign currency translation, to provide investors insight into underlying revenue trends.
                
Our non-GAAP financial measures exclude restructuring costs, acquisition costs, amortization expense related to acquired profit in inventory and backlog, and discrete tax items. These items are excluded as they are not indicative of our core operating results and are not comparable to other periods, which have differing levels of incremental costs or income, or none at all. Free cash flow presents cash flow from operations excluding capital expenditures.

Third Quarter

Adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude:

  • Pre-tax expense related to amortization of acquired profit in inventory of $2.2 million in 2021.
  • Pre-tax acquisition costs of $0.7 million in 2021 and $0.1 million in 2020.
  • Pre-tax expense related to amortization of acquired backlog of $0.6 million in 2021 and $0.3 million in 2020.
  • Pre-tax restructuring costs of $0.5 million in 2020.

Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS exclude:

  • After-tax expense related to amortization of acquired profit in inventory of $1.5 million ($2.2 million net of tax of $0.7 million) in 2021.
  • After-tax acquisition costs of $0.6 million in 2021 ($0.7 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2021 and $0.1 million in 2020.
  • After-tax expense related to amortization of acquired backlog of $0.4 million ($0.6 million net of tax of $0.2 million) in 2021 and $0.2 million ($0.3 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2020.
  • After-tax restructuring costs of $0.3 million ($0.5 million net of tax of $0.2 million) in 2020.
  • A discrete tax benefit of $0.3 million in 2020.

Free cash flow is calculated as cash flow from operations less:

  • Capital expenditures of $3.4 million in 2021 and $1.8 million in 2020.

First Nine Months

Adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude:

  • Pre-tax acquisition costs of $2.6 million in 2021 and $0.5 million in 2020.
  • Pre-tax expense related to acquired profit in inventory of $2.2 million in 2021.
  • Pre-tax expense related to amortization of acquired backlog of $0.7 million in 2021 and $0.4 million in 2020.
  • Pre-tax restructuring costs of $0.9 million in 2020.

Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS exclude:

  • After-tax acquisition costs of $2.3 million ($2.6 million net of tax of $0.3 million) in 2021 and $0.4 million ($0.5 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2020.
  • After-tax expense related to acquired profit in inventory of $1.5 million ($2.2 million net of tax of $0.7 million) in 2021.
  • After-tax expense related to acquired backlog of $0.5 million ($0.7 million net of tax of $0.2 million) in 2021 and $0.3 million ($0.4 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2020.
  • After-tax restructuring costs of $0.7 million ($0.9 million net of tax of $0.2 million) in 2020.
  • A discrete tax benefit of $0.3 million in 2020.

Free cash flow is calculated as cash flow from operations less:

  • Capital expenditures of $7.7 million in 2021 and $5.4 million in 2020.

Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth in this press release.

 

Financial Highlights (unaudited)       
(In thousands, except per share amounts and percentages)  
        
 Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
Consolidated Statement of IncomeOctober 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
Revenue$199,789   $154,610   $568,063   $466,597  
Costs and Operating Expenses:       
Cost of revenue116,096   86,294   323,337   263,510  
Selling, general, and administrative expenses52,316   43,853   151,014   134,518  
Research and development expenses2,649   2,658   8,547   8,532  
Restructuring costs   470      926  
 171,061   133,275   482,898   407,486  
Operating Income28,728   21,335   85,165   59,111  
Interest Income55   52   176   140  
Interest Expense(1,320)  (1,670)  (3,497)  (6,060) 
Other Expense, Net(23)  (32)  (71)  (95) 
Income Before Provision for Income Taxes27,440   19,685   81,773   53,096  
Provision for Income Taxes6,742   4,705   21,252   13,738  
Net Income20,698   14,980   60,521   39,358  
Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest(237)  (129)  (635)  (369) 
Net Income Attributable to Kadant$20,461   $14,851   $59,886   $38,989  
        
Earnings per Share Attributable to Kadant:       
Basic$1.77   $1.29   $5.18   $3.40  
Diluted$1.75   $1.28   $5.14   $3.38  
        
Weighted Average Shares:       
Basic11,580    11,504    11,571    11,472   
Diluted11,668    11,589    11,644    11,550   


 Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)October 2,
2021
 October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 September 26,
2020
Net Income and Diluted EPS Attributable to Kadant, as Reported$20,461  $1.75  $14,851   $1.28  
Adjustments for the Following:       
Restructuring Costs, Net of Tax    335   0.03  
Acquisition Costs, Net of Tax (b)595  0.05  58   0.01  
Acquired Backlog Amortization, Net of Tax (c)429  0.04  249   0.02  
Acquired Profit in Inventory, Net of Tax (d)1,549  0.13       
Discrete Tax Items    (338)  (0.03) 
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)$23,034  $1.97  $15,155   $1.31  
        


 Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended
 October 2,
2021
 October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 September 26,
2020
Net Income and Diluted EPS Attributable to Kadant, as Reported$59,886  $5.14  $38,989   $3.38  
Adjustments for the Following:       
Restructuring Costs, Net of Tax    667   0.06  
Acquisition Costs, Net of Tax (b)2,325  0.20  355   0.03  
Acquired Backlog Amortization, Net of Tax (c)494  0.04  275   0.02  
Acquired Profit in Inventory, Net of Tax (d)1,549  0.13       
Discrete Tax Items    (338)  (0.03) 
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)$64,254  $5.52  $39,948   $3.46  
        






 
 Three Months Ended   Increase
Excluding
Acquisitions
and FX (a,e)
Revenue by Segment  October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 Increase 
Flow Control $76,253  $56,815  $19,438  $8,193 
Industrial Processing 81,620  62,086  19,534  16,687 
Material Handling 41,916  35,709  6,207  2,943 
  $199,789  $154,610  $45,179  $27,823 
         
Percentage of Parts and Consumables Revenue 66% 66%    
         
  Nine Months Ended Increase Increase
Excluding
Acquisitions
and FX (a,e)
  October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
  
Flow Control $210,769  $165,329  $45,440  $28,778 
Industrial Processing 233,455  192,468  40,987  28,391 
Material Handling 123,839  108,800  15,039  8,846 
  $568,063  $466,597  $101,466  $66,015 
         
Percentage of Parts and Consumables Revenue 66% 65%    
         
  Three Months Ended Increase Increase
Excluding
Acquisitions
and FX (e)
Bookings by Segment October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
  
Flow Control $76,661  $49,608  $27,053  $15,721 
Industrial Processing 118,896  59,903  58,993  55,681 
Material Handling 49,137  33,838  15,299  9,793 
  $244,694  $143,349  $101,345  $81,195 
         
Percentage of Parts and Consumables Bookings 53% 67%    
         
  Nine Months Ended Increase Increase
Excluding
Acquisitions
and FX (e)
  October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
  
Flow Control $224,479  $166,713  $57,766  $40,454 
Industrial Processing 307,401  178,885  128,516  112,345 
Material Handling 130,468  106,344  24,124  15,361 
  $662,348  $451,942  $210,406  $168,160 
         
Percentage of Parts and Consumables Bookings 59% 67%    
         


 Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
Business Segment InformationOctober 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
Gross Margin:       
Flow Control49.7% 52.9% 51.8% 53.1%
Industrial Processing39.7% 43.7% 40.1% 41.0%
Material Handling31.9% 31.1% 33.8% 33.5%
 41.9% 44.2% 43.1% 43.5%



Operating Income:
       
Flow Control$17,129  $13,770  $51,899  $37,360 
Industrial Processing16,095  12,072  44,449  32,147 
Material Handling3,491  2,614  12,941  10,341 
Corporate(7,987) (7,121) (24,124) (20,737)
 $28,728  $21,335  $85,165  $59,111 
        
Adjusted Operating Income (a,f):       
Flow Control$19,835  $14,035  $55,841  $38,081 
Industrial Processing16,128  12,438  44,622  32,948 
Material Handling4,290  2,862  14,352  10,597 
Corporate(7,987) (7,121) (24,124) (20,737)
 $32,266  $22,214  $90,691  $60,889 
        
Capital Expenditures:       
Flow Control$1,128  $509  $1,830  $1,667 
Industrial Processing1,725  785  4,720  2,460 
Material Handling505  486  1,121  1,167 
Corporate12  42  17  125 
 $3,370  $1,822  $7,688  $5,419 
        
 Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
Cash Flow and Other DataOctober 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
Operating Cash Flow$37,932  $24,393  $101,410  $52,601 
Less: Capital Expenditures(3,370) (1,822) (7,688) (5,419)
Free Cash Flow (a)$34,562  $22,571  $93,722  $47,182 
        
Depreciation and Amortization Expense$9,195  $8,086  $24,597  $23,260 
        


Balance Sheet DataOctober 2,
2021
 January 2,
2021
Assets   
Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash$83,664  $66,640 
Accounts Receivable, net120,496  91,540 
Inventories135,476  106,814 
Unbilled Revenue7,915  7,576 
Property, Plant, and Equipment, net110,088  84,642 
Intangible Assets205,328  160,965 
Goodwill398,907  351,753 
Other Assets71,254  57,641 
 $1,133,128  $927,571 
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity   
Accounts Payable$53,476  $32,264 
Debt Obligations309,389  227,963 
Other Borrowings5,107  5,511 
Other Liabilities221,770  164,928 
Total Liabilities589,742  430,666 
Stockholders' Equity543,386  496,905 
 $1,133,128  $927,571 
    


 Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation (a) October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
 October 2,
2021
 September 26,
2020
Consolidated       
  Net Income Attributable to Kadant$20,461   $14,851   $59,886   $38,989  
  Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest237   129   635   369  
  Provision for Income Taxes6,742   4,705   21,252   13,738  
  Interest Expense, Net1,265   1,618   3,321   5,920  
  Other Expense, Net23   32   71   95  
  Operating Income28,728   21,335   85,165   59,111  
  Restructuring Costs   470      926  
  Acquisition Costs (b)718   78   2,619   485  
  Acquired Backlog Amortization (c)604   331   691   367  
  Acquired Profit in Inventory (d)2,216      2,216     
  Adjusted Operating Income (a)32,266   22,214   90,691   60,889  
  Depreciation and Amortization8,591   7,755   23,906   22,893  
  Adjusted EBITDA (a)$40,857   $29,969   $114,597   $83,782  
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)20.5 % 19.4 % 20.2 % 18.0 %
          
Flow Control       
  Operating Income$17,129   $13,770   $51,899   $37,360  
  Restructuring Costs   265      721  
  Acquisition Costs (b)507      1,743     
  Acquired Backlog Amortization (c)353      353     
  Acquired Profit in Inventory (d)1,846      1,846     
  Adjusted Operating Income (a)19,835   14,035   55,841   38,081  
  Depreciation and Amortization2,333   1,564   5,473   4,729  
  Adjusted EBITDA (a)$22,168   $15,599   $61,314   $42,810  
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)29.1 % 27.5 % 29.1 % 25.9 %
          
Industrial Processing       
  Operating Income$16,095   $12,072   $44,449   $32,147  
  Restructuring Costs   205      205  
  Acquisition Costs (b)33   78   113   485  
  Acquired Backlog Amortization (c)   83   60   111  
  Adjusted Operating Income (a)16,128   12,438   44,622   32,948  
  Depreciation and Amortization3,341   3,311   10,082   9,598  
  Adjusted EBITDA (a)$19,469   $15,749   $54,704   $42,546  
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)23.9 % 25.4 % 23.4 % 22.1 %
          
Material Handling       
  Operating Income$3,491   $2,614   $12,941   $10,341  
  Acquisition Costs (b)178      763     
  Acquired Backlog Amortization (c)251   248   278   256  
  Acquired Profit in Inventory (d)370      370     
  Adjusted Operating Income (a)4,290   2,862   14,352   10,597  
  Depreciation and Amortization2,885   2,824   8,253   8,416  
  Adjusted EBITDA (a)$7,175   $5,686   $22,605   $19,013  
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,g)17.1 % 15.9 % 18.3 % 17.5 %
          
Corporate       
  Operating Loss$(7,987)  $(7,121)  $(24,124)  $(20,737) 
  Depreciation and Amortization32   56   98   150  
  EBITDA (a)$(7,955)  $(7,065)  $(24,026)  $(20,587) 
         


(a)Represents a non-GAAP financial measure.
  
(b)Represents transaction costs associated with our acquisitions. Operating income by segment has been recast in the first six months of 2021 to include acquisition costs of $585 and $80 in our Material Handling and Industrial Processing segments, respectively, which were previously included in Corporate.
  
(c)Represents intangible amortization expense associated with acquired backlog.
  
(d)Represents expense within the cost of revenue associated with amortization of acquired profit in inventory.
  
(e)Represents the increase resulting from the exclusion of acquisitions and from the conversion of current period amounts reported in local currencies into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of the prior period compared to the U.S. dollar amount reported in the prior period.
  
(f)See reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure under "Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation."
  
(g)Calculated as adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue in each period.

About Kadant
Kadant Inc. is a global supplier of high-value, critical components and engineered systems used in process industries worldwide. The Company’s products, technologies, and services play an integral role in enhancing process efficiency, optimizing energy utilization, and maximizing productivity in resource-intensive industries. Kadant is based in Westford, Massachusetts, with approximately 2,900 employees in 21 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.kadant.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
The following constitutes a “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including forward-looking statements about our future financial and operating performance, demand for our products, and economic and industry outlook. These forward-looking statements represent our expectations as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Kadant’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2021 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These include risks and uncertainties relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operating and financial results; adverse changes in global and local economic conditions; the variability and difficulty in accurately predicting revenues from large capital equipment and systems projects; health epidemics; our acquisition strategy; levels of residential construction activity; reductions by our wood processing customers of their capital spending or production of oriented strand board; changes to the global timber supply; development and use of digital media; cyclical economic conditions affecting the global mining industry; demand for coal, including economic and environmental risks associated with coal; failure of our information systems or breaches of data security and cybertheft; implementation of our internal growth strategy; price increases or shortages of raw materials; competition; changes in our tax provision or exposure to additional tax liabilities; our ability to successfully manage our manufacturing operations; disruption in production; future restructurings; loss of key personnel and effective succession planning; protection of intellectual property; climate change; adequacy of our insurance coverage; global operations; policies of the Chinese government; the variability and uncertainties in sales of capital equipment in China; currency fluctuations; economic conditions and regulatory changes caused by the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union; changes to government regulations and policies around the world; compliance with government regulations and policies and compliance with laws; environmental laws and regulations; environmental, health and safety laws and regulations impacting the mining industry; our debt obligations; restrictions in our credit agreement and note purchase agreement; substitution of an alternative index for LIBOR; soundness of financial institutions; fluctuations in our share price; and anti-takeover provisions.

Contacts
Investor Contact Information:
Michael McKenney, 978-776-2000
IR@kadant.com
or
Media Contact Information:
Wes Martz, 269-278-1715
media@kadant.com