Tooling products maker Kennametal reported its 2021 fourth quarter and full-year fiscal results on Monday, and like most other major industrial suppliers in the current earnings reporting season, they were led by major year-over-year sales gains in the April-June period.
Pittsburgh-based Kennametal reported Q4 total sales of $516 million, up 36 percent year-over-year, led by 29 percent organic growth. Sequentially, sales improved 6 percent from Q3. The company's Q4 operating profit was $61 million on 11.8 margin, up from $16 million and 4.1 percent a year earlier, respectively. Adjusted Q4 operating profit was $66 million on 12.8 percent margin, compared with $33 million and 8.8 percent a year earlier. Total Q4 net profit of $35 million was a major turnaround from a $8.5 million loss a year earier.
By business segment in Q4:
- Metal Cutting sales of $312 million jumped 37 percent year-over-year, with organic sales up 30 percent. Operating profit was $33 million on 10.6 margin, dwarfing the $0.2 million and 0.1 percent margin a year earlier, respectively.
- Infrastructure sales of $204 million jumped 34 percent year-over-year, with organic sales up 28 percent. Operating profit was $28 million on 13.5 percent margin, compared to $15 million and 10.1 percent of a year earlier, respectively.
For the full year, Kennametal had total fiscal 2021 sales of $1.84 billion, down 2.3 percent from 2020, driven by a 4 percent decrease in organic sales. Operating profit was $102 million on 5.5 percent margin, compared with $22 million and 1.2 percent in 2020. Adjusted operating profit was $143 million on 7.7 percent margin, compared to $141 million and 7.5 percent a year earlier. The company's total 2020 net profit was $54 million, compared to a $6 million loss a year earlier.
Looking forward, Kennametal is expecting Q1 2022 (July-September) sales growth of 17 to 22 percent, and strong operating leverage for the full year.
