Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) today reported operating results for its fourth quarter of 2021, which ended December 31, 2021.

"We are pleased to report another strong quarter, capping a great year in 2021," said Bill Higgins, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our employees performed remarkably well throughout the year serving customers, winning new business, developing new products, and navigating supply chain and COVID challenges. For the year the Company generated record free cash flow and very healthy Adjusted EBITDA margins. The team has continued to demonstrate world-class operational performance in delivery, quality, and safety."

"Our Machine Clothing segment's execution and financial results continue to be exceptional. On strong sales and productivity, the segment's Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $237 million was a record."

"Our Engineered Composites segment also performed very well in a challenging environment, with revenues of $310 million and Adjusted EBITDA margins of 22%. The segment is winning significant new business, including the award of additional content on the CH-53K helicopter valued at more than $300 million, and is building a foundation for long-term growth with development efforts on next-generation engine and airframe programs."

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021:

• Net sales were $239.9 million, up 5.8%, or 6.4% after adjusting for currency translation, when compared to the prior year.
• Gross profit of $96.1 million was 5.2% higher than the $91.3 million reported for the same period of 2020.
• Selling, Technical, General, and Research (STG&R) expenses were $53.2 million, compared to $54.8 million in the same period of 2020.
• Operating income was $41.7 million, compared to $35.0 million in the prior year, an increase of 19.3%.
• The effective tax rate was 27.3%, compared to 13.5% for the fourth quarter of 2020. Fourth quarter 2020 effective tax rate was abnormally low due to the inclusion of a significant true up of earlier quarters' provisions.
• Net income attributable to the Company was $28.6 million ($0.89 per share), compared to $27.5 million ($0.85 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted earnings per share (or Adjusted EPS, a non-GAAP measure) was $0.86 per share, compared to $0.89 per share for the same period of last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure) was $60.6 million, compared to $57.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, an increase of 5.8%.

Please see the tables below for a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to their comparable GAAP measures.

"We are in a solid position as we enter 2022," said Stephen Nolan, Chief Financial Officer. "We expect to sustain strong results despite the supply chain challenges and inflationary pressures we are facing as we enter the year. The Company is well positioned with a solid business base and advanced technologies that spur long-term growth."

Outlook for Full-Year 2022

Albany International announces its initial financial guidance for the full-year 2022:

• Total company revenue between $920 and $960 million;
• Effective income tax rate, including tax adjustments, between 29% and 31%;
• Total company depreciation and amortization of approximately $75 million;
• Capital expenditures in the range of $75 to $85 million;
• GAAP and Adjusted earnings per share between $2.80 and $3.30;
• Total company Adjusted EBITDA between $215 to $245 million;
• Machine Clothing revenue between $590 to $610 million;
• Machine Clothing Adjusted EBITDA between $205 and $225 million;
• Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) revenue between $330 to $350 million; and
• Albany Engineered Composites Adjusted EBITDA between $65 to $75 million.

Financial tables and reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures

The following tables present Net sales and the effect of changes in currency translation rates:

The following tables present Gross profit and Gross profit margin:

A reconciliation from operating income/(loss) (GAAP) to Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the current-year and comparable prior-year periods has been calculated as follows:

Per share impact of the adjustments to earnings per share are as follows:

The following table provides a reconciliation of Earnings per share to Adjusted Earnings per share:

The calculations of net debt are as follows:

The tables below provide a reconciliation of initial outlook for the full-year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP measures) to the comparable GAAP measures:

About Albany International Corp.

Albany International is a leading developer and manufacturer of engineered components, using advanced materials processing and automation capabilities, with two core businesses. Machine Clothing is the world’s leading producer of custom-designed, consumable fabrics and process belts essential for the manufacture of all grades of paper products. Albany Engineered Composites is a growing designer and manufacturer of advanced materials-based engineered components for demanding aerospace applications, supporting both commercial and military platforms. Albany International is headquartered in Rochester, New Hampshire, operates 23 facilities in 11 countries, employs approximately 4,100 people worldwide, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol AIN). Additional information about the Company and its products and services can be found at www.albint.com.

Non-GAAP Measures

This release, including the conference call commentary associated with this release, contains certain non-GAAP measures, including: net sales, and percent change in net sales, excluding the impact of currency translation effects (for each segment and on a consolidated basis); EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (for each segment and on a consolidated basis, represented in dollars or as a percentage of net sales); Net debt; and Adjusted earnings per share (or Adjusted EPS). Such items are provided because management believes that they provide additional useful information to investors regarding the Company’s operational performance.

Presenting Net sales and increases or decreases in Net sales, after currency effects are excluded, can give management and investors insight into underlying sales trends. Net sales, or percent changes in net sales, excluding currency rate effects, are calculated by converting amounts reported in local currencies into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of a prior period. These amounts are then compared to the U.S. dollar amount as reported in the current period.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are performance measures that relate to the Company’s continuing operations. EBITDA, or net income with interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization added back, is a common indicator of financial performance used, among other things, to analyze and compare core profitability between companies and industries because it eliminates effects due to differences in financing, asset bases and taxes. The Company calculates EBITDA by removing the following from Net income: Interest expense, net, Income tax expense, Depreciation and amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by: adding to EBITDA costs associated with restructuring, former CEO termination costs, and inventory write-offs associated with discontinued businesses; adding charges and credits related to pension plan settlements and curtailments; adding (or subtracting) revaluation losses (or gains); subtracting income recognized associated with government grants; subtracting (or adding) gains (or losses) from the sale of buildings or investments; subtracting insurance recovery gains in excess of previously recorded losses; adding acquisition/integration costs and subtracting (or adding) Income (or loss) attributable to the non-controlling interest in Albany Safran Composites (ASC). Adjusted EBITDA may also be presented as a percentage of net sales by dividing it by net sales. An understanding of the impact in a particular quarter of specific restructuring costs, former CEO termination costs, government grants, acquisition/integration costs, currency revaluation, inventory write-offs associated with discontinued businesses, or other gains and losses, on net income (absolute as well as on a per-share basis), operating income or EBITDA can give management and investors additional insight into core financial performance, especially when compared to quarters in which such items had a greater or lesser effect, or no effect. Restructuring expenses, while frequent in recent years, are reflective of significant reductions in manufacturing capacity and associated headcount in response to shifting markets, and not of the profitability of the business going forward as restructured. Adjusted earnings per share (Adjusted EPS) is calculated by adding to (or subtracting from) net income attributable to the Company per share, on an after-tax basis: restructuring charges; former CEO severance costs; charges and credits related to pension plan settlements and curtailments; inventory write-offs associated with discontinued businesses; foreign currency revaluation losses (or gains); acquisition-related expenses; and losses (or gains) from the sale of investments.

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EPS, as defined by the Company, may not be similar to similarly named measures of other companies. Such measures are not considered measurements under GAAP, and should be considered in addition to, but not as substitutes for, the information contained in the Company’s statements of income.

The Company discloses certain income and expense items on a per-share basis. The Company believes that such disclosures provide important insight into underlying quarterly earnings and are financial performance metrics commonly used by investors. The Company calculates the quarterly per-share amount for items included in continuing operations by using an income tax rate based on either the tax rates in specific countries or the estimated tax rate applied to total company results. The tax rate applied excludes income tax adjustments (discrete tax adjustments and the effect of changes in the estimated income tax rate). The after-tax amount is then divided by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding for each period. Year-to-date earnings per-share effects are determined by adding the amounts calculated at each reporting period.

Net debt is, in the opinion of the Company, helpful to investors wishing to understand what the Company’s debt position would be if all available cash were applied to pay down indebtedness. The Company calculates Net debt by subtracting Cash and cash equivalents from Total debt. Total debt is calculated by adding Long-term debt, Current maturities of long-term debt, and Notes and loans payable, if any.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements, estimates, guidance or projections that constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will,” “should,” “look for,” “guidance,” “guide,” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Because forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties (including, without limitation, those set forth in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q), actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this release or in the webcast include, without limitation, statements about macroeconomic and paper-industry trends and conditions during 2021 and in future years; expectations in 2021 and in future periods of sales, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales), Adjusted EPS, income, gross profit, gross margin, cash flows and other financial items in each of the Company’s businesses, and for the Company as a whole; the timing and impact of production and development programs in the Company’s AEC business segment and the sales growth potential of key AEC programs, as well as AEC as a whole; the amount and timing of capital expenditures, future tax rates and cash paid for taxes, depreciation and amortization; future debt and net debt levels and debt covenant ratios; and changes in currency rates and their impact on future revaluation gains and losses. Furthermore, a change in any one or more of the foregoing factors could have a material effect on the Company’s financial results in any period. Such statements are based on current expectations, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Statements expressing management’s assessments of the growth potential of its businesses, or referring to earlier assessments of such potential, are not intended as forecasts of actual future growth, and should not be relied on as such. While management believes such assessments to have a reasonable basis, such assessments are, by their nature, inherently uncertain. This release and earlier releases set forth a number of assumptions regarding these assessments, including historical results, independent forecasts regarding the markets in which these businesses operate, and the timing and magnitude of orders for our customers’ products. Historical growth rates are no guarantee of future growth, and such independent forecasts and assumptions could prove materially incorrect in some cases.