“Outstanding results” by the industrial segment of Carboline’s parent company helped keep the chill off RPM International's bottom line and heat up record results in the third quarter, the company reported Thursday (April 3).

While the North American Polar Vortex of 2013-14 iced sales of consumer hobby and small-project products, the industrial companies that make up 65 percent of RPM's business delivered a profit to the Medina, OH-based holding company.
The showing was a dramatic turnaround from the third quarter of 2013, when RPM reported a $42.4 million loss due in large part to a $65 million legal settlement with the U.S. General Services Administration. The long-running case involved allegations of price-gouging and substandard roofing materials in RPM's Tremco business.

'Choppy Times'
"We are pleased with RPM's third-quarter performance, especially in light of the severe cold weather during the quarter in North America, which had a pronounced effect on our consumer segment and impacted some of our industrial businesses as well," said Frank C. Sullivan, chairman and chief executive officer.
"Our strategically balanced business model continues to serve us well in these choppy economic times, with this quarter's industrial segment growth offsetting weather-induced weakness in the consumer segment.
"While the third quarter is typically affected by seasonality, the impact was even more pronounced this year."

Third-Quarter Highlights
RPM's net sales grew 2.3 percent to $863.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the prior-year period. Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were $37.2 million, compared to the eight-figure loss of 2013's third quarter.
Net income for Q3 of FY2014 was a record $16.2 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to the $42.4 million ($0.33 per diluted share) net loss of the year-ago period.

In addition to the costs of the Tremco settlement—revised in Thursday's announcement to $68.8 million—RPM also recorded a $6.1 million adjustment in the third quarter of FY 2013 related to its acquisition of Viapol Ltda.

Compared to the adjusted results of the hard-hit year-ago quarter, EBIT improved 41.4 percent and net income improved 87.1 percent. Earnings per diluted share were up 71.4 percent.