H.B. Fuller Co. recently reported financial results for its first quarter ended February 26, 2022. Net revenue of $857 million increased 18% compared with the first quarter of 2021. Foreign currency exchange rates unfavorably impacted revenue by 3.7%, while acquisitions favorably impacted revenue by 0.9%. Organic revenue increased 20.8% vs. the prior-year quarter, with 6.1% from volume growth and 14.7% from pricing.

“H.B. Fuller had a strong start to fiscal 2022, with 21% growth in organic revenues and adjusted EPS,” said Jim Owens, president and CEO. “We also delivered adjusted EBITDA growth of 12% which exceeded our guidance for the quarter. Our momentum was driven by volume growth and strong pricing performance in all three of our global business units. Our remarkable first-quarter results are a direct result of executing our multi-year strategy to strengthen our operational agility and grow our portfolio of highly specialized solutions to solve customers’ toughest adhesion problems.

“The unexpected and tragic events in Ukraine have all of us focused on the safety of people in the region. From an H.B. Fuller business perspective, Russia and Ukraine make up less than one percent of our annual revenue, however, these events have dramatically increased the level of supply chain uncertainty and accelerated inflationary pressures in an already fragile environment. We have moved quickly to take additional actions to secure global supply and to strategically price our products aligned with the value we deliver.

“H.B. Fuller’s solutions are critical for our customers to meet high demand for durable goods, electronics, packaged products, transportation, solar panels, hygiene and medical products, building construction and maintenance, and we remain confident in our ability to deliver strong results in this turbulent environment. We have increased our outlook for fiscal 2022 to reflect the contributions from our recent acquisitions of Apollo and Fourny and our strong performance in the first quarter. As we continue to execute our strategy, we are well-positioned to drive sustainable shareholder value in 2022 and in the years ahead.”

H.B. Fuller has updated its outlook for fiscal year 2022 based on current market conditions and to include the impact from the Apollo and Fourny acquisitions. Raw material and delivery costs are expected to continue to rise as the year progresses, primarily driven by increasing industrial demand and supply constraints of U.S. petrochemicals. The company is now anticipating an increase of approximately 12-15% in the cost of raw materials in the first half of 2022 vs. the fourth quarter 2021 exit rate.

H.B. Fuller implemented annualized price adjustments of approximately $130 million in the first quarter of this year and is planning an additional $175 million of increases in the second quarter. When combined with annualized price increases of approximately $450 million executed in fiscal 2021, the company’s total pricing actions are anticipated to more than offset raw material and delivery cost increases. The company is prepared to implement further increases as necessary.

Based on current conditions and planned pricing actions, H.B. Fuller now anticipates year-on-year organic revenue growth of 15-20%, compared to its prior guidance provided in January for 10-15% organic growth. Foreign currency exchange rates are anticipated to have an unfavorable impact of 3-4% on full-year net revenue growth vs. fiscal 2021. The Apollo and Fourny acquisitions are expected to contribute approximately $60 million of revenue in 2022.

For more information, visit www.hbfuller.com.