Kadant Corporate

News Release

Kadant Reports 2005 Second Quarter Results

August 3, 2005 at 4:40 PM EDT

ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 2005--For the second quarter of 2005, Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI) reported that revenues from continuing operations increased 24 percent to $65.1 million (including 21 percent, or $11.1 million, from recently acquired Kadant Johnson and a 2 percent benefit from currency translation), compared with $52.7 million in the second quarter of 2004. Income from continuing operations was $3.1 million in the 2005 quarter, or $.22 of diluted earnings per share (EPS), versus $4.0 million, or $.27 of diluted EPS, in the 2004 period, which included a $.03 tax benefit. Including the discontinued composite building products business, net income in the 2005 quarter was $3.4 million, or $.24 per diluted share, versus $3.7 million, or $.26 per diluted share, in 2004.

"We had a good quarter overall, meeting our financial targets and achieving several objectives that solidly position Kadant for growth in the long term," said William A. Rainville, chairman and chief executive officer of Kadant. "We closed the acquisition of Kadant Johnson in mid-May, and are pleased to report that this business is already accretive to earnings. In addition to extending our breadth of offerings to the global paper industry, Kadant Johnson greatly strengthens our presence in Asia, where continued market growth is helping to offset lingering weakness in North America and parts of Europe. Since the end of the second quarter, we have received orders from Chinese producers for stock-preparation systems totaling approximately $7.5 million, suggesting strong bookings performance from China in the third quarter.

"In France, our Kadant Lamort subsidiary reported an operating loss for the quarter as we expected, which lowered our diluted EPS by $.05. However, we recently completed the necessary consultations with the workers' council and have begun to implement the restructuring plan, which should enable this business to regain profitability by the end of the year. We also continue to make steady progress on the sale of the composite building products business, having recently signed a letter of intent."

Mr. Rainville added, "Just a few months after making a major acquisition, our balance sheet remains strong. With more than $46 million in cash and $61 million in debt, our net debt position was only $15 million at quarter end. Finally, we used $2.1 million of cash during the quarter to repurchase our stock.

"Looking ahead to the third quarter of 2005, which will include an operating loss from Kadant Lamort comparable to the second quarter, we expect to report GAAP diluted EPS of $.19 to $.21 from continuing operations, on revenues of $65 to $67 million. For the full year, we are narrowing our GAAP diluted EPS guidance to $.92 to $1.00, on revenues of $250 to $260 million."

Kadant will hold its earnings conference call on Thursday, August 4, 2005, at 11 a.m. Eastern time. To listen, call 800-709-2159 within the U.S., or 973-582-2810 outside the U.S. You can also listen to the call live on the Web by visiting www.kadant.com and clicking on "Investors." An audio archive of the call will be available on our Web site until September 2, 2005.

Kadant Inc. is a leading supplier to the global pulp and paper industry, with a range of products and services for improving efficiency and quality in pulp and paper production, including paper machine accessories, and systems for stock preparation, fluid handling, and water management. Our fluid-handling products are also used to optimize production in the steel, rubber, plastics, food, and textile industries. In addition, we produce granules from papermaking byproducts for agricultural and lawn and garden applications. Kadant is based in Acton, Massachusetts, and, with the addition of Kadant Johnson in May 2005, has annual revenues of approximately $270 million and approximately 1,500 employees worldwide. For more information, visit www.kadant.com.

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 regarding our growth opportunities, our expected future business and financial performance, sale of our composite building products business, impact and timing of the restructuring of our Kadant Lamort subsidiary, our market position, and orders and business outlook for China. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such statements are set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Kadant's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended April 2, 2005. These include risks and uncertainties relating to our dependence on the pulp and paper industry; international sales and operations; competition; increase in our debt; restrictions in our credit agreement; our ability to successfully integrate Kadant Johnson; our acquisition strategy; our ability to complete the proposed restructuring of our French subsidiary; ability to sell the composite building products business on favorable terms; ability to manufacture and distribute composite building products, and the economic conditions, seasonality in sales, and the long-term performance of such products; availability of raw materials and exposure to commodity price fluctuations related to the manufacture of composite and fiber-based products; protection of patents and proprietary rights; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; and anti-takeover provisions. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Financial Highlights (unaudited) (a)
(In thousands, except per share amounts and percentages)

                              Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
                               ----------------- -------------------
Consolidated Statement of        July 2,  July 3,   July 2,   July 3,
 Income                            2005     2004      2005      2004
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
Revenues                       $65,086  $52,652  $115,830  $100,152
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Costs and Operating Expenses:
     Cost of revenues           40,385   32,255    72,367    60,288
     Selling, general, and
      administrative expenses   18,497   14,575    33,391    28,346
     Research and development
      expenses                   1,247      581     2,295     1,469
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
                                60,129   47,411   108,053    90,103
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Operating Income                 4,957    5,241     7,777    10,049
Interest Income                    379      318       851       647
Interest Expense                  (473)      (4)     (475)      (12)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Income from Continuing Operations
 Before Provision for Income
     Taxes and Minority
      Interest                   4,863    5,555     8,153    10,684
Provision for Income Taxes       1,654    1,558     1,857     3,353
Minority Interest Expense           62       14        62        14
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Income from Continuing
 Operations                      3,147    3,983     6,234     7,317

Income (Loss) from
 Discontinued Operation, Net
 of Tax                            207     (240)     (156)     (846)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Net Income                      $3,354   $3,743    $6,078    $6,471
                               ======== ======== ========= =========

Basic Earnings per Share
        Income from Continuing
         Operations               $.23     $.28      $.45      $.51
        Income (Loss) from
         Discontinued
         Operation                 .01     (.02)     (.01)     (.05)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
        Net Income                $.24     $.26      $.44      $.46
                               ======== ======== ========= =========

Diluted Earnings per Share
        Income from Continuing
         Operations               $.22     $.27      $.44      $.50
        Income (Loss) from
         Discontinued
         Operation                 .02     (.01)     (.01)     (.06)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
        Net Income                $.24     $.26      $.43      $.44
                               ======== ======== ========= =========

Weighted Average Shares
        Basic                   13,891   14,218    13,909    14,220
                               ======== ======== ========= =========

        Diluted                 14,181   14,555    14,196    14,579
                               ======== ======== ========= =========


                              Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
                               ----------------- -------------------
Adjusted Net Income and          July 2,  July 3,   July 2,   July 3,
 Diluted EPS (b)                   2005     2004      2005      2004
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

     Net Income                 $3,354   $3,743    $6,078    $6,471
     (Income) Loss from
      Discontinued Operation,
      Net of Tax                  (207)     240       156       846
     Royalty Gain (c)                -        -         -      (631)
     Income Taxes (d)                -     (386)     (882)     (386)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

        Adjusted Net Income     $3,147   $3,597    $5,352    $6,300
                               ======== ======== ========= =========

     Diluted Earnings per
      Share                       $.24     $.26      $.43      $.44
     (Income) Loss from
      Discontinued Operation      (.02)     .01       .01       .06
     Royalty Gain (c)                -        -         -      (.04)
     Income Taxes (d)                -     (.03)     (.06)     (.03)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

        Adjusted Diluted
         Earnings per Share       $.22     $.24      $.38      $.43
                               ======== ======== ========= =========

                              Three Months Ended  Six Months Ended
                               ----------------- -------------------
Business Segment Information     July 2,  July 3,   July 2,   July 3,
                                   2005     2004      2005      2004
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
Revenues:
        Pulp and Papermaking
         Systems               $62,528  $50,933  $110,099   $96,497
        Other (e)                2,558    1,719     5,731     3,655
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
                               $65,086  $52,652  $115,830  $100,152
                               ======== ======== ========= =========
Gross Profit Margin:
        Pulp and Papermaking
         Systems                    38%      38%       37%       40%
        Other (e)                   37%      45%       40%       39%
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------
                                    38%      39%       38%       40%
                               ======== ======== ========= =========
Operating Income:
        Pulp and Papermaking
         Systems                $5,934   $6,152    $9,310   $12,495
        Corporate and Other(e)    (977)    (911)   (1,533)   (2,446)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

                                $4,957   $5,241    $7,777   $10,049
                               ======== ======== ========= =========
Adjusted Operating Income: (b)
        Pulp and Papermaking
         Systems (c)            $5,934   $6,152    $9,310   $11,525
        Corporate and Other(e)    (977)    (911)   (1,533)   (2,446)
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

                                $4,957   $5,241    $7,777    $9,079
                               ======== ======== ========= =========


                              Three Months Ended  Six Months Ended
                               ----------------- -------------------
Business Segment Information     July 2,  July 3,   July 2,   July 3,
 (continued)                       2005     2004      2005      2004
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Bookings:
        Pulp and Papermaking
         Systems               $49,103  $48,897  $105,545  $100,040
        Other (e)                2,090    1,823     5,468     3,690
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

                               $51,193  $50,720  $111,013  $103,730
                               ======== ======== ========= =========
Capital Expenditures:
        Pulp and Papermaking
         Systems                  $612     $505      $752      $835
        Corporate and Other(e)      97       50       123        82
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

                                  $709     $555      $875      $917
                               ======== ======== ========= =========


                              Three Months Ended     Six Months Ended
                               ----------------- -------------------
Cash Flow and Other Data from    July 2,  July 3,   July 2,   July 3,
 Continuing Operations             2005     2004      2005      2004
                               -------- -------- --------- ---------

Cash Provided by Operations     $4,435   $5,977    $4,883    $8,262
Depreciation and Amortization
 Expense                        $1,703     $900    $2,719    $1,833


Balance Sheet Data                                 July 2,    Jan. 1,
                                                     2005       2005
                                                  --------- ---------

Cash and Cash Equivalents                         $46,221   $82,089
Short and Long-term Debt                          $61,017        -
Shareholders' Investment                         $213,564  $212,461


(a) All prior-period information has been restated to reflect the
    composite building products business as a discontinued operation.

(b) In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with
    generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use the
    non-GAAP financial measures of adjusted net income, adjusted
    diluted EPS, and adjusted operating income, which exclude certain
    non-recurring items. We exclude these items because they are
    outside our normal operations. We believe that providing such
    non-GAAP measures helps investors gain a more meaningful
    understanding of our operating results from period to period, and
    is consistent with how we measure our performance. The non-GAAP
    financial measures included in this press release are not meant to
    be considered superior to or a substitute for results of
    operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, the
    non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release may be
    different from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similar
    measures used by other companies.

(c) Represents a pre-tax gain of $970 in the six-month period ended
    July 3, 2004, which resulted from renegotiating a series of
    agreements with one of our licensees, excluded from adjusted
    operating income.

(d) Represents effect of a tax benefit of $882 in the six-month period
    ended July 2, 2005, received from our former parent company under
    a tax agreement and the effect of a reduction in tax reserves of
    $386 in the three- and six-month periods ended July 3, 2004.

(e) Other includes the results from the Fiber-based Products business
    and Kadant Johnson's Specialty Castings business.

CONTACT: Kadant Inc.
Investors:
Thomas M. O'Brien, 978-776-2000
or
Media contact:
GreatPoint Communications, 978-392-6866

SOURCE: Kadant Inc.

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