Lydall Inc. said Monday rising automobile production in the U.S. and Europe produced its strongest sales in two years in the second quarter, enabling the Manchester maker of heat and sound insulation and fluid filters and containers to reverse a year-earlier profit loss.
Lydall earned a net $2.4 million, or 14 cents a share, in the three months ended June 30, compared to a net loss of $5.9 million, or 36 cents a share, the same period a year ago. About $1 million, or 6 cents a share, of the profit was from the recent sale of Lydall’s electrical papers product line.
Sales climbed 52 percent in the latest quarter to $82.9 million from $56 million a year ago. Lydall said second-quarter sales were the best since the second quarter of 2008. Meantime, CEO Dale Barnhart says the company’s order backlog continues to grow.
Lydall’s insulation and oil-filter cores are used in cars and trucks, while its Charter Medical unit markets body-fluid and tissue containers to hospitals and biomedical firms.
Lydall has plants in the U.S., France, The Netherlands and Germany.
The currency impact of the weakening dollar against the Euro ate into Lydall’s cash horde in the quarter, the company said. Still, with proceeds from electrical papers sale and a $3.5 million federal tax refund in July, Lydall had $22.2 million in cash and equivalents on hand as of June 30, just $500,000 less than at the end of 2009.
At 11 a.m., Lydall was up 27 cents, or 3.7 percent, at $7.42.
