1. PLPC posted a 21% increase in net sales to $178.1 million. 2. Pension plan termination resulted in an $11.7 million one-time charge. 3. Adjusted EPS rose 36% to $2.09, excluding the pension charge. 4. Tariffs impacted costs, leading to LIFO inventory valuation increases of $3.8 million. 5. Net income for Q3 2025 decreased to $2.6 million, primarily due to the charge.
The significant sales increase and strong adjusted EPS growth indicate underlying business strength despite one-time charges. Historically, substantial sales growth tends to benefit stock prices, as seen after similar earnings reports in industries recovering from disruption.
The article provides critical financial results that can impact investor sentiment and stock valuation. The combination of increased sales, adjusted EPS growth, and significant one-time charges creates a multifaceted narrative worthy of investor attention.
The market typically reacts quickly to substantial earnings reports, influencing stock prices in the short term, especially with the positive sales growth narrative.
CLEVELAND, Oct. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ:PLPC) today reported financial results for its third quarter of 2025.
Q3 2025 highlights compared to same quarter last year:
Net sales in the third quarter of 2025 were $178.1 million compared to $147.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, a 21% increase. PLP-USA continued its strong 2025 performance as both energy product and communications end-market sales contributed to the increase. The international segments bolstered the sales increase with higher energy product sales as well as incremental communication sales from the recently acquired JAP Telecom. Foreign currency translation increased third-quarter 2025 net sales by $1.9 million.
Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 was $2.6 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, compared to $7.7 million, or $1.54 per diluted share, for the comparable period in 2024. Excluding the non-cash pension plan termination charge, adjusted net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2025 was $10.3 million, or $2.09 per diluted share. In addition to the one-time non-cash pension termination charge, the third quarter of 2025 net income was impacted by the continuing tariffs affecting goods sourced internationally by PLP-USA and tariff-related acceleration of Last-In First-Out (LIFO) inventory valuation costs totaling $3.8 million on a pre-tax basis. These costs were offset by margin contribution from higher sales levels and lower interest expense. Selling price increases announced earlier this year on new orders meant to offset the recently enacted tariffs currently lag the tariff impact on the income statement.
Net sales increased 16% to $496.2 million for the first nine months of 2025 compared to $426.6 million for the first nine months of 2024. All segments realized a year-over-year increase in net sales due to higher volumes of energy and communication market sales. Foreign currency translation rates reduced net sales by $3.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 was $26.8 million, or $5.42 per diluted share, compared to $26.6 million, or $5.37 per diluted share, for the comparable period in 2024. Excluding the pension termination charge, adjusted net income for the nine-month ended September 30, 2025 was $34.6 million, or $6.98 per diluted share, a 30% increase. In addition to the pension termination charge, net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025 was impacted by the recently enacted tariffs, pre-tax LIFO inventory valuation costs of $6.2 million offset by margin contribution from higher sales levels and lower interest expense.
Rob Ruhlman, Executive Chairman, said, "We continue to post quarterly sales gains due to the strength of our core energy and communication end markets. We are very pleased that the sales growth is global, benefiting the USA energy and communications business as well as sales growth in all international segments for the current quarter and full year. While both order quoting and backlog show signs of market strength, the impact on customer demand caused by recently enacted tariffs creates uncertainty. We have incurred cost increases on key commodity inputs necessary for our USA production process, primarily due to Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. Earlier this year, we announced selling price increases designed to mitigate the impact of the recently enacted tariffs. While these selling price increases currently lag the flow through of higher costs associated with tariffs in our income statement, over time, full mitigation is expected. In the third quarter, we also successfully completed the previously announced U.S. Pension Plan termination through the purchase of a group annuity contract. This is another significant step in strengthening and de-risking our balance sheet. Our focus is unchanged: provide our customers with the high-quality products and superior customer service they have come to expect from PLP."
A presentation on third quarter results will also be available on PLP's website at www.plp.com/investor-relations.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 regarding the Company, including those statements regarding the Company's and management's beliefs and expectations concerning the Company's future performance or anticipated financial results, among others. Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in those statements. Among other things, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements include the uncertainty in global business conditions and the economy due to factors such as inflation, rising interest rates, tariffs, labor disruptions, military conflict, political instability, exchange rates, natural disasters and health epidemics, the strength of demand and availability of funding for the Company's products (including in light of price increases) and the mix of products sold, the relative degree of competitive and customer price pressure on the Company's products, the cost, availability and quality of raw materials required for the manufacture of products, opportunities for business growth through acquisitions and the ability to successfully integrate any acquired businesses, changes in regulations and tax rates, security breaches, litigation and claims and the Company's ability to continue to develop proprietary technology and maintain high-quality products and customer service to meet or exceed new industry performance standards and individual customer expectations, and other factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 13, 2025 and subsequent filings with the SEC. The Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's other filings with the SEC can be found on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.
ABOUT PLP
PLP protects the world's most critical connections by creating stronger and more reliable networks. The company's precision-engineered solutions are trusted by energy and communications providers worldwide to perform better and last longer. With locations in 20 countries, PLP works as a united global corporation, delivering high-quality products and unparalleled service to customers around the world.
PREFORMED LINE PRODUCTS COMPANY (PLPC) | |||
September 30, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||
(Thousands of dollars, except share and per share data) | (Unaudited) | ||
ASSETS | |||
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ 72,946 | $ 57,244 | |
Accounts receivable, net | 120,794 | 111,402 | |
Inventories, net | 146,089 | 129,913 | |
Prepaid expenses | 14,117 | 11,720 | |
Other current assets | 6,330 | 5,514 | |
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS | 360,276 | 315,793 | |
Property, plant and equipment, net | 217,781 | 195,086 | |
Goodwill | 30,480 | 26,685 | |
Other intangible assets, net | 9,672 | 9,656 | |
Deferred income taxes | 7,310 | 6,546 | |
Other assets | 19,104 | 20,111 | |
TOTAL ASSETS | $ 644,623 | $ 573,877 | |
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||
Trade accounts payable | $ 48,858 | $ 41,951 | |
Notes payable to banks | 2,847 | 7,782 | |
Current portion of long-term debt | 4,660 | 2,430 | |
Accrued compensation and other benefits | 30,728 | 25,904 | |
Accrued expenses and other liabilities | 29,350 | 30,346 | |
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES | 116,443 | 108,413 | |
Long-term debt, less current portion | 31,346 | 18,357 | |
Other noncurrent liabilities and deferred income taxes | 30,496 | 24,783 | |
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | |||
Common shares – $2 par value per share, 15,000,000 shares authorized, 4,901,871 | 13,831 | 13,752 | |
Common shares issued to rabbi trust, 222,506 and 222,887 shares at September 30, | (9,586) | (9,575) | |
Deferred compensation liability | 9,586 | 9,575 | |
Paid-in capital | 65,641 | 65,093 | |
Retained earnings | 576,985 | 553,179 | |
Treasury shares, at cost, 2,013,240 and 1,961,772 shares at September 30, 2025 and | (134,676) | (126,800) | |
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (55,476) | (82,909) | |
TOTAL PLPC SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | 466,305 | 422,315 | |
Noncontrolling interest | 33 | 9 | |
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | 466,338 | 422,324 | |
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | $ 644,623 | $ 573,877 | |
PREFORMED LINE PRODUCTS COMPANY | |||||||
Three Months Ended September 30, | Nine Months Ended September 30, | ||||||
2025 | 2024 | 2025 | 2024 | ||||
(Thousands, except per share data) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||
Net sales | $ 178,087 | $ 146,973 | $ 496,229 | $ 426,597 | |||
Cost of products sold | 125,238 | 101,195 | 339,310 | 292,415 | |||
GROSS PROFIT | 52,849 | 45,778 | 156,919 | 134,182 | |||
Costs and expenses | |||||||
Selling | 13,252 | 12,318 | 38,525 | 36,146 | |||
General and administrative | 19,149 | 16,414 | 55,440 | 48,272 | |||
Research and engineering | 6,182 | 5,545 | 17,356 | 16,334 | |||
Other operating expense, net | 1,134 | 1,109 | 2,212 | 186 | |||
39,717 | 35,386 | 113,533 | 100,938 | ||||
OPERATING INCOME | 13,132 | 10,392 | 43,386 | 33,244 | |||
Other income (expense) | |||||||
Interest income | 683 | 538 | 1,577 | 1,856 | |||
Interest expense | (312) | (564) | (1,006) | (1,840) | |||
Pension termination expense | (11,657) | — | (11,657) | — | |||
Other income, net | 510 | 64 | 1,033 | 189 | |||
(10,776) | 38 | (10,053) | 205 | ||||
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES | 2,356 | 10,430 | 33,333 | 33,449 | |||
Income tax (benefit) expense | (263) | 2,734 | 6,461 | 6,783 | |||
NET INCOME | $ 2,619 | $ 7,696 | $ 26,872 | $ 26,666 | |||
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling | 7 | (16) | (24) | (24) | |||
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO PLPC | $ 2,626 | $ 7,680 | $ 26,848 | $ 26,642 | |||
AVERAGE NUMBER OF SHARES OF COMMON | |||||||
Basic | 4,915 | 4,904 | 4,925 | 4,911 | |||
Diluted | 4,941 | 4,977 | 4,951 | 4,959 | |||
EARNINGS PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK | |||||||
Basic | $ 0.53 | $ 1.57 | $ 5.45 | $ 5.42 | |||
Diluted | $ 0.53 | $ 1.54 | $ 5.42 | $ 5.37 | |||
Cash dividends declared per share | $ 0.20 | $ 0.20 | $ 0.60 | $ 0.60 | |||
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION
This earnings release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. These financial measures include adjusted earnings, and adjusted earnings per basic and diluted share, each of which differs from the most directly comparable measure calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A reconciliation of each of these financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is included in this earnings release. Management believes that these financial measures are useful to investors because they provide additional meaningful financial information that should be considered when assessing our business performance and trends, and they allow investors to more easily compare the Company's financial performance period to period.
The Company's adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per diluted share for three months and nine months ended September 30, 2025 were calculated as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||
(Thousands, except per share data) | (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO PLPC SHAREHOLDERS | $ 2,626 | $ 26,848 | |||
Add back: | |||||
Pension termination expense, after tax | 7,721 | 7,721 | |||
ADJUSTED NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO PLPC SHAREHOLDERS | $ 10,347 | $ 34,569 | |||
AVERAGE NUMBER OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OUTSTANDING: | |||||
Basic | 4,915 | 4,925 | |||
Diluted | 4,941 | 4,951 | |||
ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK ATTRIBUTABLE TO | |||||
Basic | $ 2.11 | $ 7.02 | |||
Diluted | $ 2.09 | $ 6.98 | |||
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | ||||
ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK | |||||
NET INCOME PER SHARE ATTRIBUTABLE TO PLPC SHAREHOLDERS | $ 0.53 | $ 5.42 | |||
Add back: | |||||
Per share impact of pension termination expense, after tax | 1.56 | 1.56 | |||
ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK | $ 2.09 | $ 6.98 | |||
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SOURCE Preformed Line Products Company