Manchester-based filtration-thermal/acoustics-sealing products maker Lydall Inc., which slowed production at three of its global manufacturing plants in recent months affecting some 1,000 workers, on Monday posted a $56.4-million loss for the first quarter.
The company reported a loss of $56.4 million, or $3.25 per share, during the first three months of 2020, vs. a $3.89 million gain a year earlier.
Sales in the quarter dipped by 8% to $200.5 million.
CEO Sara Greenstein said declines in profit and sales were largely attributable to auto manufacturers that buy Lydall’s products stopping production amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In response to our automotive customers ceasing operations in the U.S. and Europe late in the quarter, we quickly ramped down production at our Thermal Acoustical Solutions facilities in these geographies,” Greenstein said.
Some 1,000 employees, nearly a third of Lydall’s employee-base, were be “impacted” by the slowing down of production at those facilities, Greenstein said. A Lydall spokesman said that impacts include a mix of layoffs and furloughs, and that the “ramp down” amounts to a near-total shutdown of production.
However, Lydall has shifted much of its production efforts toward manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE), Greenstein said, including filtration products used in N95 respirators, surgical and medical masks, and medical wipes, pads and gowns.
“When it first became apparent that COVID-19 would have a significant impact on the global economy… we immediately responded to the large unmet need and global shortage of supplies for front line and first responder personnel,” Greenstein said. “[We] re-prioritized our manufacturing capabilities in North America and Europe.”
The company has taken cost-saving steps in addition to slowing production, Lydall reported. That includes reducing all non-critical capital spending, and deferring company pension and retirement contributions.
“As the global economy stabilizes, the actions we’ve taken should better enable us to serve the structural change in demand for specialty filtration and other engineered materials products, while efficiently meeting the needs of our automotive customers,” Greenstein said.
