Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) reported third-quarter sales of $555 million, up 4% from a year earlier, as growth in its Engineered Solutions segment and several Consumer & Specialties initiatives offset inflationary pressures and pockets of softer demand.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Dietrich said the company remained on track for mid-single-digit full-year revenue growth and expects that pace to continue through 2027. Third-quarter operating income was $72 million and earnings per share were $1.53.
“Both segments are executing on their growth initiatives,” Dietrich said, pointing to demand for newer cat litter formulations, fabric care additives and natural oil purification products in Consumer & Specialties, as well as steel, foundry, environmental and drilling-related growth in Engineered Solutions.
Engineered Solutions Posts Record-Level Performance
Engineered Solutions generated third-quarter sales of $277 million, up 9% from the prior year, while operating income rose 9% to $49 million. The segment produced an operating margin of 17.6%, which Dietrich said put it on course for a record year.
High-Temperature Technologies sales rose 7% year over year to $192 million, supported by steel and foundry customers globally. The company cited growth in North American electric arc furnace steel markets, including refractory products, calcium wire and application equipment. It also reported six new installations this year for its Minscan products and said it had secured calcium-wire contracts at two greenfield steel plants expected to begin operating next year.
Environmental & Infrastructure sales increased 11% from the prior year to $85 million. Management cited stronger demand for drilling products, environmental project solutions and building materials used in large commercial construction projects.
Minerals Technologies also said its FLUORO-SORB product for PFAS remediation continued to gain commercial traction. The company converted four drinking-water pilots into full-scale installations during the year and expects four additional implementations over the next two quarters. Brett Argirakis, group president of Engineered Solutions, said the company has 10 additional full-scale municipal drinking-water installations scheduled for next year and eight more systems awaiting awards.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects Engineered Solutions sales to decline about 10% sequentially, primarily reflecting the usual seasonal reduction in Environmental & Infrastructure project activity.
Consumer & Specialties Faces Cost Pressures
Consumer & Specialties recorded third-quarter sales of $278 million, slightly above the prior year and up 1% sequentially. Operating income totaled $25 million as the segment absorbed rising energy, transportation, mining and raw-material costs.
Chief Financial Officer Erik Aldag said higher diesel prices drove transportation and other energy-linked costs, particularly in the Household & Personal Care business, where the company distributes substantial volumes by truck. European natural gas costs and oil-derivative materials such as packaging also contributed to the pressure.
The Household & Personal Care product line posted sales of $131 million, up 1% year over year and 6% sequentially. North American cat litter sales improved, although European cat litter volumes were temporarily lower because of a more pronounced seasonal impact and a customer promotion that moved into the fourth quarter.
Sales of edible-oil and renewable-fuel purification products rose 21% sequentially. Aldag said volumes exiting the quarter were 33% above the second-quarter run rate. D.J. Monagle, group president of Consumer and Specialties, attributed the progress largely to new capacity in Turkey that enabled the company to qualify products at sustainable aviation fuel refineries, including facilities in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Specialty Additives sales were flat year over year at $148 million. Growth in Asia, where sales rose 13%, was offset by a mill closure, paper-machine conversion and customer downtime in North American paper and packaging markets, as well as continued softness in residential construction.
Management said price actions are planned or underway to recover recent inflation. Aldag said that, if costs stabilize during the first quarter, Consumer & Specialties could reach an operating margin above 12% in the second quarter of 2027, helping lift companywide margins above 14%. He said additional volume leverage and growth in higher-margin products could return the company to a 14.5% to 15% operating-margin run rate in the second half of 2027.
Cash Flow, Balance Sheet and Fourth-Quarter Outlook
Third-quarter cash from operations was $76 million, while free cash flow was $52 million. Year-to-date cash from operations reached $171 million, up 32% from the prior-year period. The company expects full-year free cash flow to be about 6% of sales and capital spending of $95 million to $100 million.
During October, Minerals Technologies issued $400 million of senior notes due in 2032 and used the proceeds to redeem its notes previously due in 2028. It also extended its revolving credit facility and increased its capacity to $500 million. Liquidity rose by more than $160 million from the third quarter of the prior year to $868 million, while net debt was $579 million and net leverage stood at 1.5 times EBITDA at quarter-end.
The board increased the quarterly dividend by 8% to $0.13 per share, marking the company’s fourth consecutive annual dividend increase.
For the fourth quarter, Minerals Technologies expects approximately $525 million in sales, operating income of $60 million to $63 million, and earnings per share of $1.15 to $1.20. The quarter has six fewer days than the comparable period a year earlier; on a days-adjusted basis, management said the guidance represents high-single-digit sales growth and roughly similar operating income and earnings per share.
Innovation Pipeline Highlights New Opportunities
At its recent Investor Day, the company reiterated its long-term target of roughly 5% average revenue growth through the cycle, a 15% operating margin in the near term, a 7% free-cash-flow conversion target and a 12% return-on-invested-capital target.
Dietrich said the company’s product pipeline represents an estimated $1.4 billion in revenue potential. Among its emerging opportunities, Minerals Technologies is expanding its ability to produce high-purity calcium metal in Connecticut for domestic rare-earth metallization. The company estimates the opportunity could generate more than $100 million in incremental revenue over the next three to five years.
The company is also preparing to pilot a process that repurposes steel slag into materials including magnesium and manganese. Management estimates the addressable U.S. market for the steel-slag opportunity alone could exceed $250 million, though it said the full-scale capital requirements and commercialization path remain to be determined.
About Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX)
Minerals Technologies Inc (NYSE: MTX) is a global specialty minerals and materials company that develops, produces and markets mineral-based products and engineered solutions for industrial and consumer applications. Its products are used in industries including paper and packaging, construction, environmental services, agriculture, food, personal care and automotive manufacturing.
The company supplies materials such as precipitated calcium carbonate, talc, bentonite, perlite and other specialty minerals.
