Reflected by higher margins and strong revenue growth, portfolio transformation is working at Standex International. The company reported strong results on August 12 for the most recent quarter. Its electronics business unit, a global manufacturer of magnetic components and the firm’s largest operation, registered a 62% jump in revenues and handsome profitability.
For the fourth quarter ended June 30, company-wide revenues rose to $176 million, jumping 26% over the same period a year ago. In the electronics segment, operating income increased approximately $9.9 million or 168% year-over-year which reflected operating leverage associated with revenue growth, profit contribution from Renco which it acquired last year for $28 million, and pricing and productivity initiatives. At 13.3%, the company operating margin was the strongest ever reported for a quarter. The electronics segment accounted for about 41% of company sales.
“Over the past several years, we have transformed our portfolio around businesses with attractive growth and margin profiles as well as strong customer value propositions. Today’s announcement reflects our focus on accelerating deployment of our deep technical and applications expertise to meet customer needs in emerging growth markets such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, smart grid and functional surfaces” said President and CEO David Dunbar.
“In fiscal 2022, we have a healthy pipeline of productivity and efficiency initiatives which will provide further margin opportunity. In particular, our focus on mitigating material inflation and improving our cost position in the Electronics segment through changes in reed switch production and material substitution are expected to be substantially complete by the end of fiscal 2022,“ noted Dunbar.
“We are entering fiscal 2022 well-positioned for improved financial performance as we continue to build on our portfolio of high-quality businesses. We expect positive trends in end markets such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and smart grid. In addition, there are new business opportunities in the space and aviation sectors complemented by ongoing company-wide new product development efforts,” he said.
The company also announced on August 12 that Flavio Maschera, president of the engraving segment, is being elevated to chief innovation and technology officer, a newly created position in the company. He will lead a corporate innovation and development team while working with the segment presidents and their teams to drive the development of new technologies and improve internal innovation processes.
The electronics group is a global component and value-added solutions provider of both sensing and switching technologies along with magnetic power conversion components and assemblies. Business unit names are Standex Electronics, Standex-Meder Electronics, Northlake Engineering, Agile Magnetics, Standex Electronics Japan, and the MEDER, KENT, and KOFU reed switch brands. Components are manufactured in plants located in the U.S., Mexico, the UK, Germany, Japan, China and India. For more info, see www.standex.com.
