Lydall’s net sales of $146.2 million in the second quarter of 2020 decreased by $74.7 million, or 33.8%, compared to $220.8 million in the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to the effects of COVID-19 related automotive OEM shutdowns and weaker industrial demand.

“I am incredibly proud of Lydall’s global employees who delivered extraordinary results while the world was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In times like these, cash matters most and the team rose to the occasion by generating almost $14 million of cash from operations in the second quarter,” Sara A. Greenstein, president and chief executive officer, says. “Additionally, we quickly pivoted our resources to the production of personal protective equipment for our first responders, medical professionals, military personnel and the general public, which contributed to our adjusted consolidated EBITDA margin of nearly 8% in the quarter. We also announced new strategic investments to accelerate domestic meltblown filtration media capacity supported by a $13.5 million commitment from the U.S. Government.”

Greenstein says the demand for the filtration media produced in Lydall’s Performance Materials segment significantly increased—the company saw a 20% increase in Filtration sales in the second quarter compared to prior year, a trend it expects to continue. “In our Technical Nonwovens segment, we completed a large order for nonwoven material used in medical gowns to support first responders for the New York Department of Health,” adds Ms. Greenstein. “When our automotive customers shuttered their factories late in the first quarter, the Thermal Acoustical Solutions business saw a historic decline in second quarter volumes in North America and Europe. The team responded quickly and decisively to flex our cost structure, and by the end of the second quarter our factories were back to nearly full pre- COVID production to support our automotive customers’ production re-starts.”