Lydall Slips To Loss In Q4; Stock Down

(RTTNews) - Lydall Inc. (LDL) reported that its net loss for the fourth quarter was $70.5 million or $4.07 per share, compared to net income of $7.2 million or $0.42 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018. The latest-quarter result included non-cash impairment charges of $64.2 million principally due to the under-performance of the Interface business in our Performance Materials segment.

LDL closed Tuesday regular trading at $19.46, down $1.48 or 7.07 percent. In the after-hours trade, the stock further dropped $0.19 or 0.98 percent.

Adjusted loss per share were $0.17 compared to adjusted earnings per share of $0.52 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Net sales decreased by $16.7 million or 7.9% to $193.3 million, compared to $209.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 primarily from lower sales in the Performance Materials and the Technical Nonwovens business segments.

Organic sales declined 8.3% on further weakening of demand for fiber based gasket solutions in the Interface business, lower demand for industrial filtration products in China and Europe, and lower domestic automotive volumes attributable to the General Motors strike.

Sara Greenstein, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "While we have seen some recent stabilization in the end markets for Interface sealing products, weaker demand in European industrial markets is impacting all of our segments. In China, we are closely monitoring the impact of the coronavirus on the Company's businesses."

The company expects its first quarter and full year results will be negatively impacted, but are uncertain with regards to the severity and duration of the impact.