Business
The Eastern Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2021 Results Full-Year Net Sales From Continuing Operations Increase by 25% Full-Year Net Income From Continuing Operations Grow by 47%
Eastern Announces Upcoming Retirement of John Sullivan, CFO, and Hiring of Peter O'HaraStrong demand across core markets, combined with superb execution by
About this update from Eastern Company (the)
[{"type":"text","content":"Eastern Announces Upcoming Retirement of John Sullivan, CFO, and Hiring of Peter O'HaraStrong demand across core markets, combined with superb execution by our teams, drove growth in our net sales from continuing operations to $246.5 million in 2021, an increase of 25% compared to net sales from continuing operations in 2020. Customer orders were strong and backlog grew to $82.8 million at the end of 2021 compared to $64.7 million at the end of 2020.Gross margin was 23% in 2021, compared to 24% in 2020, as price increases and cost recovery actions largely offset elevated material costs and freight rates. We estimate that unrecovered raw material cost increases in 2021 were approximately $5.5 million before tax, equal to $0.75 per share, after-tax.Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations for 2021 were $2.58, an increase of 47% over 2020, primarily because of higher sales volumes in 2021. Adjusted for one-time events, 2021 earnings per diluted share from continuing operations increased by 17% to $2.44. (See non-GAAP financial measures.)To streamline our portfolio of businesses and build scale in our largest businesses, we divested two businesses, Greenwald Industries and Frazer & Jones, in the fourth quarter of 2021. With these divestitures completed, we are focused on accelerating organic growth, new product innovation, and adding bolt-on acquisitions to strengthen our core businesses.Eastern's balance sheet remains strong with net leverage of 2.46x as of the end of 2021, down from 3.02x at the end of 2020. We made total debt payments of $17.3 million, of which $11.0 million was an accelerated principal payment partly funded by the proceeds of our recent divestitures.We are pleased to announce that Peter O'Hara will join us as the new CFO of Eastern. Peter brings 30 years of finance experience, most recently at Navistar, Inc. We are grateful to John Sullivan, who will retire on May 15, 2022, for his commitment and contributions to Eastern.NAUGATUCK, CT / ACCESSWIRE / March 17, 2022 / The Eastern Company (\"Eastern\") (NASDAQ:EML), an industrial manufacturer of unique engineered solutions serving commercial transportation, logistics, and other industrial markets, today announced the results of operations for the fourth fiscal quarter and full-year ended January 1, 2022.President and CEO August Vlak commented, \"Net sa...