Nonwovens specialist Lydall, headquartered in Manchester, Connecticut, is reaping the rewards of decisions taken during 2020 and the bounceback other businesses this year.

The company’s second quarter 2021 net sales climbed to $221.7 million, up 51.7% compared to the same period last year, and income soared by 116.4%.

“Over the past year, Lydall has gone through an incredible transformation proving flexibility and responsiveness in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said said Sara A. Greenstein, president and CEO. “Our Performance Materials (PN) business saw continued strong demand in speciality filtration led by higher sales of fine fibre meltblown media, as well as sealing solutions which benefited from favourable trends in transportation, agricultural, and construction end markets. The PM team commissioned additional fine fibre meltblown capacity at our Rochester, New Hampshire and St. Rivalain, France facilities, ahead of schedule and under budget.”

In the Thermal Acoustical Solutions (TAS) segment, parts sales grew 119.5% from the prior year, which was heavily impacted by Covid-19 related automotive facility shutdowns. TAS volumes, however, were impacted this year by semiconductor shortages affecting global automotive production, but the team rapidly adjusted to changing customer requirements.

Lydall’s Technical Nonwovens (TNW) segment saw sales growth of 39.4% from the prior year as industrial end markets continue to recover from Covid-19 related slowdowns last year.

“The TNW business continues to build healthy backlog as industrial activity strengthens, delivering sequential sales growth of 17.5% while expanding adjusted earnings before taxx by over 40%,” Greenstein said.

Net sales of $221.7 million increased by $75.6 million, or 51.7% from the second quarter of 2020.

Operating income of $9.4 million improved by $11.2 million from the second quarter 2020 operating loss of $1.7 million.

As previously announced, Unifrax, a leading global provider of high performance speciality materials focused on thermal management, speciality filtration, battery materials, emission control and fire protection applications, signed definitive agreements to acquire Lydall. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in the second half of 2021

www.lydall.com