RPM International reports record sales and earnings in the fiscal second quarter

RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM) said on Wednesday that its cash from operations, earnings, and sales jumped to a record high in the fiscal second quarter, despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 21 million people in the United States and caused over 365 thousand deaths.

RPM shares (learn more: how to buy stocks for beginners) were reported less than 1% up in premarket trading on Wednesday. At £65.73 per share, the stock is now a little under 100% up as compared to the low of £34.31 per share in March, when the impact of COVID-19 was at its peak.

RPM declares 27.85 pence per share of a quarterly dividend

RPM International said that its sales in the second quarter printed at £1.09 billion that translates to a 6.0% annualised growth. The company attributed the increase in sales to Ali Industries that it recently acquired. RPM reported its financial results only a day after it declared 27.85 pence of a regular quarterly cash dividend per share.

The American multinational reported £93.60 million of net income in the recent quarter – a year over year increase of 65.7%. At £130.98 million, RPM said that its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at 49.8% higher than lasts year. On an adjusted basis, its EBIT climbed by 29.7% in Q2 to £146.08 million.

In separate news from the United States, fresh egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods Inc. also published its second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday that came in better than what analysts had anticipated.

CEO Frank Sullivan’s comments on Wednesday

CEO Frank Sullivan of RPM International commented on the earnings report on Wednesday and said:

“Our Construction Products Group was able to leverage modest sales growth into outstanding results on the bottom line, due in large part to our MAP to Growth program, aggressive discretionary cost cuts and proactive management to improve its product mix.”

RPM acknowledged margin improvements that it said helped fuel cash from operations to a record £424.76 million in the second quarter. For the fiscal third quarter, the Ohio-based company now forecasts a close to 5% annualised growth in sales and a 30% increase in adjusted EBIT.

RPM performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of roughly 20%. At the time of writing, the coatings and sealants specialist is valued at £8.48 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 30.67.