Monday, December 20, 2010

Nordson's Growth Story Sticks

Like it or not, the U.S. economy really is recovering. Rail traffic continues to highlight that companies are shipping more and more "stuff" around the country. Grainger's (NYSE:GWW) monthly sales rates have stayed strong, and then there is the case of Nordson's (Nasdaq:NDSN) volume and order growth. 

Okay, maybe this last point needs a little more explanation, since Nordson is not exactly a household name. Nordson sells a wide range of products that dispense and apply all sorts of adhesives, coatings, sealants, surface treatments and so on. What is intriguing, though, is that this company sells into many different parts of the economy (consumer non-durables, durables, tools, appliances and tech), and if they are seeing broad order growth, that means a lot of industries are opening their wallets for cap-ex spending.

A Solid End To The Year
For the fiscal fourth quarter, Nordson reported that revenue rose 22% on the back of a 23% jump in product volume. That result puts the company at the lower end of a narrow analyst range. Growth was strongest in the advanced technology business, with 42% overall growth led by nearly 43% volume growth. The adhesive dispensing business (the company's largest) saw revenue rise about 8%, while the industrial coatings business produced sales growth of 38%. (For related reading, see Is Growth Always A Good Thing?)

Operating leverage was also fully in play this quarter. The company's gross margin improved by a full point, while the operating margin improved about six full points (adjusting the year-ago figure for some impairments). All in all, adjusted operating profits grew almost 59%, with every segment showing improvement.


Please click the link for the full article:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Nordsons-Growth-Story-Sticks-NDSN-GWW-ITW-KMB-PG-MDT-DOV1220.aspx

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