WESTFORD, Mass., May 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kadant Inc. (NYSE: KAI) reported its financial results for the first quarter ended April 4, 2026.

First Quarter Financial Highlights

  • Bookings increased 25% to a record $321 million
  • Revenue increased 18% to $282 million
  • Gross margin decreased 110 basis points to 45.0%
  • Net income increased 6% to $26 million
  • GAAP EPS increased 6% to $2.16  
  • Adjusted EPS increased 14% to $2.84
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased 19% to $57 million and represented 20.2% of revenue
  • Operating cash flow decreased 4% to $22 million
  • Backlog was $326 million

Note: Percent changes above are based on comparison to the prior year period. All references to earnings per share (EPS) are to our EPS as calculated on a diluted basis. Adjusted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, free cash flow, and changes in organic revenue are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items as detailed later in this press release under the heading “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Management Commentary
“We had an excellent start to the year highlighted by robust demand and solid earnings growth,” said Jeffrey L. Powell, president and chief executive officer of Kadant. “Strong demand for our aftermarket parts combined with our recent acquisitions led to record bookings and aftermarket parts revenue along with healthy margin performance.”

First Quarter 2026 Compared to 2025
Revenue increased 18 percent to $281.5 million compared to $239.2 million in 2025. Organic revenue decreased one percent, which excludes an increase of 14 percent from acquisitions. Gross margin was 45.0 percent, which includes a 50 basis point decrease from acquisition-related costs, compared to 46.1 percent in 2025.

Net income was $25.5 million, increasing six percent compared to $24.1 million in 2025. GAAP EPS increased six percent to $2.16 compared to $2.04 in 2025 and adjusted EPS increased 14 percent to $2.84 compared to $2.50 in 2025. Adjusted EPS excludes intangible asset amortization expense of $0.53 and acquisition-related costs of $0.15 in 2026, and intangible asset amortization expense of $0.40 and acquisition-related costs of $0.06 in 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 19 percent to $56.8 million and represented 20.2 percent of revenue in 2026 compared to $47.9 million and 20.0 percent of revenue in 2025. Operating cash flow decreased four percent to $21.9 million compared to $22.8 million in 2025. Free cash flow decreased two percent to $18.7 million compared to $19.0 million in 2025.

Bookings increased 25 percent to a record $320.8 million compared to $256.2 million in 2025. Organic bookings increased ten percent, which excludes increases of 11 percent from acquisitions and four percent from the favorable effect of foreign currency translation.

Summary and Outlook
“Our strong start to the year is encouraging, and we expect capital project activity to continue improving,” Mr. Powell continued. “That said, project timing is more uncertain due to heightened geopolitical challenges. We are revising our guidance to reflect our recent acquisition and expect revenue of $1.178 to $1.203 billion in 2026, up from our previous guidance of $1.160 to $1.185 billion. We now expect GAAP EPS of $9.80 to $10.15 in 2026, revised from our previous guidance of $10.27 to $10.62, and adjusted EPS of $12.33 to $12.68, revised from our prior guidance of $12.53 to $12.88. The $0.20 decrease in adjusted EPS relates to our recent acquisition, which will be dilutive in the short term as income is deferred until Kadant's previously acquired inventory is sold to third-party customers. The 2026 adjusted EPS guidance excludes $2.53 of acquisition-related costs, revised from $2.26 in our previous guidance. For the second quarter of 2026, we expect revenue of $296 to $306 million, GAAP EPS of $2.26 to $2.36 and, after excluding $0.62 of acquisition-related costs, adjusted EPS of $2.88 to $2.98.”

Conference Call
Kadant will hold a webcast with a slide presentation for investors on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its first quarter financial performance, as well as future expectations. To listen to the call live and view the webcast, go to the “Investors” section of the Company’s website at kadant.com. Participants interested in joining the call’s live question and answer session are required to register by clicking here or selecting the Q&A link on our website to receive a dial-in number and unique PIN. It is recommended that you join the call 10 minutes prior to the start of the event. A replay of the webcast presentation will be available on our website through June 5, 2026.

Prior to the call, our earnings release and the slides used in the webcast presentation will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be available at sec.gov. After the webcast, Kadant will post its updated general investor presentation incorporating the first quarter results on its website at kadant.com under the “Investors” section.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including increases or decreases in revenue excluding the effect of acquisitions and foreign currency translation (organic revenue), adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted EPS, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, and free cash flow.

We use organic revenue to understand our trends and to forecast and evaluate our financial performance and compare revenue to prior periods. Organic revenue excludes revenue from acquisitions for the four quarterly reporting periods following the date of the acquisition and the effect of foreign currency translation. Revenue in the first quarter of 2026 included $34.0 million from acquisitions and a favorable foreign currency translation effect of $9.8 million compared to the first quarter of 2025. Our other non-GAAP financial measures exclude amortization expense related to acquired intangible assets, profit in inventory, and backlog (collectively, purchase accounting expenses); acquisition costs; and other income or expense, as indicated. We exclude purchase accounting expenses and acquisition costs to provide a more meaningful and consistent comparison of our operating results over time and with peer companies. While we have a history of acquisition activity, such transactions do not occur on a predictable cycle, and the size and nature of these transactions will vary. We believe it is important for investors to understand that these intangible assets were recorded as part of purchase accounting and that they contribute to revenue generation. We also exclude other items as they are not indicative of our core operating results and are not comparable to other periods, which have differing levels of incremental costs, expenditures or income, or none at all. Additionally, we use free cash flow in order to provide insight on our ability to generate cash for acquisitions and debt repayments, as well as for other investing and financing activities.

We believe these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of our core business, operating results, or future outlook. We believe that the inclusion of such measures helps investors gain an understanding of our underlying operating performance and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts our performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasts and to the performance of our competitors. Such measures are also used by us in our financial and operating decision-making and for compensation purposes. We also believe this information is responsive to investors' requests and gives them additional measures of our performance.

The non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the results of operations or cash flows prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release have limitations associated with their use as compared to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, in that they may be different from, and therefore not comparable to, similar measures used by other companies.

First Quarter

Adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude:

  • Pre-tax intangible asset amortization expense of $8.4 million in 2026 and $6.3 million in 2025.
  • Pre-tax profit in inventory and backlog amortization expense of $1.4 million in 2026 and $0.4 million in 2025.
  • Pre-tax acquisition costs of $0.7 million in 2026 and $0.3 million in 2025.

Adjusted net income and adjusted EPS exclude:

  • After-tax intangible asset amortization expense of $6.3 million ($8.4 million plus tax of $2.1 million) in 2026 and $4.8 million ($6.3 million net of tax of $1.5 million) in 2025.
  • After-tax profit in inventory and backlog amortization expense of $1.1 million ($1.4 million net of tax of $0.3 million) in 2026 and $0.3 million ($0.4 million net of tax of $0.1 million) in 2025.
  • After-tax acquisition costs of $0.7 million in 2026 and $0.3 million in 2025.

Free cash flow is calculated as operating cash flow less:

  • Capital expenditures of $3.3 million in 2026 and $3.8 million in 2025.

Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth in this press release.

Financial Highlights (unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts and percentages)
       
    Three Months Ended
Consolidated Statement of Income April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025
Revenue $281,505  $239,210 
Costs and Operating Expenses:    
 Cost of revenue 154,802   128,880 
 Selling, general, and administrative expenses 82,538   71,221 
 Research and development expenses 4,056   3,523 
    241,396   203,624 
Operating Income  40,109   35,586 
Interest Income  351   517 
Interest Expense  (4,484)  (3,822)
Other Expense, Net  (13)  (16)
Income Before Provision for Income Taxes  35,963   32,265 
Provision for Income Taxes  10,142   7,828 
Net Income  25,821   24,437 
Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests  (312)  (374)
Net Income Attributable to Kadant $25,509  $24,063 
       
Earnings per Share Attributable to Kadant:    
  Basic $2.16  $2.05 
  Diluted $2.16  $2.04 
       
Weighted Average Shares:    
  Basic  11,794   11,760 
  Diluted  11,802   11,776 
       


    Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a)April 4,
2026		 April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025		 March 29,
2025
Net Income and Diluted EPS Attributable to Kadant, as Reported$25,509 $2.16 $24,063 $2.04
Adjustments, Net of Tax:        
 Intangible Asset Amortization   6,308  0.53  4,753  0.40
 Profit in Inventory and Backlog Amortization  1,057  0.09  296  0.03
 Acquisition Costs  671  0.06  315  0.03
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS (a,b)$33,545 $2.84 $29,427 $2.50
           


    Three Months Ended   Increase (Decrease)
Excluding Acquisitions and FX (a,c)
Revenue by Segment  April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025		 Increase 
Flow Control $98,608  $92,441  $6,167 $1,372 
Industrial Processing  123,038   89,524   33,514  (3,957)
Material Handling  59,859   57,245   2,614  1,058 
    $281,505  $239,210  $42,295 $(1,527)
           
Percentage of Parts and Consumables Revenue  74%  75%    
           
    Three Months Ended Increase
 Increase (Decrease)
Excluding Acquisitions and FX (c)
Bookings by Segment April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025		  
Flow Control $111,546  $99,987  $11,559 $6,392 
Industrial Processing  144,502   92,366   52,136  21,022 
Material Handling  64,747   63,865   882  (1,057)
    $320,795  $256,218  $64,577 $26,357 
           
Percentage of Parts and Consumables Bookings  71%  74%    
           


    Three Months Ended
Additional Segment Information April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025
Gross Margin:    
  Flow Control  52.7%  53.3%
  Industrial Processing  42.5%  44.1%
  Material Handling  37.5%  37.7%
  Consolidated  45.0%  46.1%
       
Operating Income:    
  Flow Control $24,204  $22,752 
  Industrial Processing  19,913   16,832 
  Material Handling  7,466   7,535 
  Corporate  (11,474)  (11,533)
    $40,109  $35,586 
       
Adjusted Operating Income (a,b,d):    
  Flow Control $25,474  $24,366 
  Industrial Processing  26,423   19,344 
  Material Handling  10,154   10,427 
  Corporate  (11,474)  (11,533)
    $50,577  $42,604 
       
Capital Expenditures:    
  Flow Control $1,022  $1,509 
  Industrial Processing  863   1,325 
  Material Handling  1,236   999 
  Corporate  137   3 
    $3,258  $3,836 
       
    Three Months Ended
Cash Flow and Other Data April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025
Operating Cash Flow $21,916  $22,835 
Capital Expenditures  (3,258)  (3,836)
Free Cash Flow (a) $18,658  $18,999 
       
Depreciation and Amortization Expense $14,647  $12,013 
         


Balance Sheet Data     April 4,
2026		 January 3,
2026
Assets        
Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash     $119,817  $122,681 
Accounts Receivable, Net      172,376   158,567 
Inventories      214,831   206,854 
Contract Assets      5,921   6,599 
Property, Plant, and Equipment, Net      193,286   196,656 
Intangible Assets      341,170   350,376 
Goodwill      551,088   555,621 
Other Assets      116,163   114,824 
        $1,714,652  $1,712,178 
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity        
Accounts Payable     $55,481  $53,362 
Debt Obligations      361,256   372,720 
Other Borrowings      2,105   1,781 
Other Liabilities      289,661   293,248 
 Total Liabilities      708,503   721,111 
 Stockholders' Equity      1,006,149   991,067 
        $1,714,652  $1,712,178 
           
  Three Months Ended
Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation (a) April 4,
2026		 March 29,
2025
Consolidated    
  Net Income Attributable to Kadant $25,509  $24,063 
  Net Income Attributable to Noncontrolling Interests  312   374 
  Provision for Income Taxes  10,142   7,828 
  Interest Expense, Net  4,133   3,305 
  Other Expense, Net  13   16 
  Operating Income  40,109   35,586 
  Intangible Asset Amortization Expense  8,385   6,320 
  Profit in Inventory Amortization Expense (e)  1,409   11 
  Backlog Amortization Expense (f)  —   379 
  Acquisition Costs  674   337 
  Indemnification Asset Provision (g)  —   (29)
  Adjusted Operating Income (a,b)  50,577   42,604 
  Depreciation Expense  6,262   5,314 
  Adjusted EBITDA (a) $56,839  $47,918 
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,h)  20.2%  20.0%
       
Flow Control    
  Operating Income $24,204  $22,752 
  Intangible Asset Amortization Expense  1,270   1,214 
  Profit in Inventory Amortization Expense (e)  —   11 
  Backlog Amortization Expense (f)  —   279 
  Acquisition Costs  —   8 
  Indemnification Asset Reversal (g) —   102 
  Adjusted Operating Income (a,b)  25,474   24,366 
  Depreciation Expense  1,927   1,798 
  Adjusted EBITDA (a) $27,401  $26,164 
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,h)  27.8%  28.3%
     
Industrial Processing    
  Operating Income $19,913  $16,832 
  Intangible Asset Amortization Expense  4,427   2,378 
  Profit in Inventory Amortization Expense (e)  1,409   — 
  Acquisition Costs  674   340 
  Indemnification Asset Provision (g) —   (206)
  Adjusted Operating Income (a,b)  26,423   19,344 
  Depreciation Expense  3,110   2,347 
  Adjusted EBITDA (a) $29,533  $21,691 
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,h)  24.0%  24.2%
       
Material Handling    
  Operating Income $7,466  $7,535 
  Intangible Asset Amortization Expense  2,688   2,728 
  Backlog Amortization Expense (f)  —   100 
  Acquisition Costs  —   (11)
  Indemnification Asset Reversal (g) —   75 
  Adjusted Operating Income (a,b)  10,154   10,427 
  Depreciation Expense  1,212   1,158 
  Adjusted EBITDA (a) $11,366  $11,585 
  Adjusted EBITDA Margin (a,h)  19.0%  20.2%
       
Corporate    
  Operating Loss $(11,474) $(11,533)
  Depreciation Expense  13   11 
  EBITDA (a) $(11,461) $(11,522)
       
(a) Represents a non-GAAP financial measure.
       
(b) Reflects new methodology, announced on February 19, 2026, to exclude intangible asset amortization expense.
       
(c) Represents the increase (decrease) resulting from the exclusion of acquisitions and from the conversion of current period amounts reported in local currencies into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate of the prior period compared to the U.S. dollar amount reported in the prior period.
       
(d) See reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure under “Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation.”
       
(e) Represents amortization expense within cost of revenue associated with acquired profit in inventory.
       
(f) Represents intangible amortization expense associated with acquired backlog.
       
(g) Represents the reversal of or provision for indemnification assets related to the release of or establishment of tax reserves associated with uncertain tax positions.
       
(h) Calculated as adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue in each period.
       

About Kadant
Kadant Inc. is a global supplier of technologies and engineered systems that drive Sustainable Industrial Processing®. The Company’s products and services play an integral role in enhancing efficiency, optimizing energy utilization, and maximizing productivity in process industries. Kadant is based in Westford, Massachusetts, with approximately 4,000 employees in 22 countries worldwide. For more information, visit kadant.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
The following constitutes a “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including forward-looking statements about our future financial and operating performance, demand for our products, and economic and industry outlook. These forward-looking statements represent our expectations as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Kadant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2026 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These include risks and uncertainties relating to adverse changes in global and local economic conditions; the variability and difficulty in accurately predicting revenues from large capital equipment and systems projects; our acquisition strategy; levels of residential construction activity; reductions by our wood processing customers of their capital spending or production of oriented strand board; changes to the global timber supply; development and use of digital media; cyclical economic conditions affecting the global mining industry; demand for coal, including economic and environmental risks associated with coal; failure of our information systems or breaches of data security and cybersecurity incidents; implementation of our internal growth strategy; competition; our ability to successfully manage our manufacturing operations; supply chain constraints, inflationary pressure, price increases or shortages in raw materials; loss of key personnel and effective succession planning; future restructurings; protection of intellectual property; changes to tax laws and regulations; climate change; adequacy of our insurance coverage; global operations; policies of the Chinese government; the variability and uncertainties in sales of capital equipment in China; currency fluctuations; changes to government regulations and policies around the world; compliance with government regulations and policies and compliance with laws; environmental laws and regulations; environmental, health and safety laws and regulations impacting the mining industry; our debt obligations; restrictions in our credit agreement and note purchase agreement; soundness of financial institutions; fluctuations in our share price; and anti-takeover provisions.

Contacts
Investor Contact Information:
Michael McKenney, 978-776-2000
IR@kadant.com 

Media Contact Information:
Wes Martz, 978-776-2000
media@kadant.com 


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Source: Kadant Inc

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