By Katherine Hamilton

Nordson issued what its chief executive termed conservative guidance for the coming year, citing uncertain expectations for recovery by its electronics and agricultural product lines.

The downbeat view came after the company posted narrower profit and higher revenue in its fourth quarter, with results topping Wall Street expectations.

The Westlake, Ohio, manufacturer on Wednesday posted a profit of $122.2 million, or $2.12 cents a share, in the three months ended Oct. 31, compared with $127.8 million, or $2.22 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings came to $2.78, ahead of the $2.59 forecast by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 4% from the prior year, to $744.5 million, ahead of the $736.8 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Nordson saw a decline in its operating profit due to lower sales. Its organic sales decreased 3%.

Nordson shared guidance for 2025, which Chief Executive Sundaram Nagarajan called conservative. The upcoming first quarter is usually Nordson's weakest, and the company is bracing for uncertainty particularly in its electronics and agricultural lines, Nagarajan said.

For the full year, Nordson expects to post adjusted per-share earnings between $9.70 and $10.50 from revenue between $2.75 billion and $2.87 billion. Analysts were looking for adjusted earnings of $10.39 a share and revenue of $2.93 billion.

In the current first quarter, Nordson guided for adjusted per-share earnings between $1.95 and $2.15 and revenue between $615 million and $655 million. Analysts expected adjusted per-share earnings of $2.30 and revenue of $682 million.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 11, 2024 17:11 ET (22:11 GMT)

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