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Elia Newsom is a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder and the sole breadwinner for his wife and 2-year-old daughter. He works 10 to 20 hours a week at a second job on top of his full-time work at the university, and picks up summer teaching when it’s available. He worries about securing a stable future for his daughter. “It’s been a struggle for us,” Newsom said. “I think $52,000 a year is probably fine for somebody living by themselves, maybe,” Newsom said. “You can’t really live in Boulder comfortably but you could probably get by, but I have a family.” For some CU Boulder employees like Newsom, the salary from the university isn’t enough to make ends meet. Staff at CU Boulder make up the largest group that utilizes the university’s mobile food pantries, and the Boulder Faculty Assembly has listed pay equity for faculty as a top priority this year. Newsom is also involved in the United Campus Workers Union, which advocates for a 20% cost of living adjustment and contracted raises of 5% to 6% annually for faculty, staff and graduate students at CU Boulder. The union organized a last year for higher wages. CU Boulder does not recognize the union, and state law does not grant higher education workers collective bargaining rights. “The University of Colorado Boulder works diligently to balance the affordability of a CU Boulder education with the needs of our employees,” CU Boulder spokesperson Nicole Mueksch wrote in an email. “Our campus recognizes the impact that ensuring attainable access to CU Boulder –– which we accomplish via tuition guarantee, modest tuition increases from the Board of Regents and CU Promise –– has on our ability to maintain wages that keep with inflationary costs, particularly in a community like Boulder where the cost of living has increased faster than the state and national average.” Newsom teaches in the writing and rhetoric program at CU Boulder and holds a doctorate degree. He said it’s not uncommon for faculty like him to work second jobs. He knows one professor who works for Uber as a second job and has picked up their students before. Another colleague of his has resorted to selling plasma to pay bills. Those faculty members declined to speak on the record about their experiences, citing concerns about their job security. The university does not collect data on the number of its employees with second jobs, since Mueksch said CU Boulder does not require its employees to report any additional jobs they may have unless that job is a conflict of interest. Alastair Norcross is a CU Boulder professor and chair of the CU Faculty Council. As a faculty leader, he helps advocate for better pay for his colleagues. “I think it’s very easy for people in general to think that college professors are all well paid and have easy jobs,” Norcross said. “And it comes as a shock to many people to hear about someone with a doctorate degree who’s an expert in their field and is teaching students who is also having to resort to selling plasma to make ends meet. I mean, this shouldn’t happen.” According to a cost of from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the living wage for a single-person household in Boulder County is $26.36 an hour, or nearly $55,000 annually. That number nearly doubles if the adult has a child to support. Sarah Huntley, Boulder’s director of communication and engagement, said the city considers $22 an hour a living wage for its employees, or nearly $46,000 a year. She said each employer in Boulder makes its own decisions about what’s considered a living wage and how to pay its employees based on its financial situation, including the university. “CU Boulder aims to remain a competitive employer in the state and across higher education,” Mueksch wrote. “The university has a comprehensive compensation strategy that outlines several compensation goals, including a goal to establish a short-term and multi-year compensation strategy that advances the campus goal of recruiting, advancing, and retaining employees.” At CU Boulder, minimum wage is $16 for students and $18 for staff. The current minimum wage in Boulder is $14.42, which to $15.57 on Jan. 1 and by 8% annually through 2027. The university has different ranks of faculty that teach students: lecturers, teaching professors and tenured or tenure-track faculty. Lecturers are typically paid the least, Norcross said. Lecturers are hired on a course-by-course basis, paid per course and usually hired one semester at a time. In the College of Arts and Sciences, for lecturers starts at $4,970, which is increasing to $5,170 in the spring. If a lecturer teaches four courses a semester at the current rate, which is considered a full teaching load, they would earn less than $40,000 annually. Pay for lecturers in hard sciences starts at a higher rate — for example, compensation starts at $8,500 per course in the and Applied Science. Lecturers are meant to be part-time and temporary, according to CU Regent policy, but many teach full class loads and have been employed at CU Boulder for years. Norcross said the university hires many lecturers because there are not enough permanent faculty to meet the demand for courses. In his department, which is philosophy, lecturers outnumber permanent faculty. There are 28 lecturers and 24 professors, according to the . “My main concern has been the appallingly low pay we give to lecturers,” Norcross said. “I don’t think we pay our teaching professors particularly well but we certainly pay them better than our lecturers and we give them more job security.” Mueksch said CU Boulder has taken numerous steps in recent years to address compensation for employees on campus. This includes a 4% raise for staff and a 4% increase in the merit pool for faculty in 2024 and upcoming in 2025. Since 2022, CU Boulder has increased staff pay and the faculty merit pool by at least 3% to 4% annually. Lecturers are not included in the faculty merit compensation pool increase; however, CU Boulder has increased the contracted lecturer rates by 3% to 4% four times since 2022. Above lecturers are teaching professors, who are salaried and whose primary focus is teaching and does not require research. Newsom is a teaching professor. As of July 1, teaching professors and clinical faculty who are promoted receive between a $4,000 base-building raise and a $6,500 base-building raise. This was in addition to the 4% merit pool increases that occurred in 2024 and will occur in 2025. Because of this, Newsom now makes $56,000 a year. Newsom said the raises, which are determined by the CU Board of Regents, are not enough. He’s frustrated when administrators who make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year inform him he’ll get a 4% raise. “It kind of feels insulting after a while,” Newsom said, adding, “Everyone should be able to live in dignity and be able to not struggle.” Mueksch said the majority of the university’s staff and teaching professors are paid out of the university’s education and general fund, with the primary source of funding coming directly from students. “For FY25, student tuition and fees account for 81% of the budget, followed by direct state funding (11%) and indirect cost recovery (8%),” Mueksch wrote. “This means CU Boulder must carefully balance affordability for students with employee compensation.” At the top of the faculty ranks are tenure and tenure-track professors who do a mix of teaching and research. They also have built-in pathways for promotion and permanent job security. Norcross is a tenured professor. As of fall 2023, which is the latest available data, CU Boulder employed 1,239 tenured and tenure-track professors, 2,380 research faculty, 570 teaching professors, 790 lecturers and 3,003 graduate students. Emily Harrington became aware of how little lecturers are paid and how much they’re working when she was made chair of undergraduate studies in the English department. As chair, part of her job is to staff all the English classes and assign instructors to courses. She said most undergraduate courses are not taught by tenure or tenure-line professors, who are the highest-paid faculty with the most job security. Once a student majors in a discipline, they have more access to tenure-line professors. “I think it’s fair to say that freshmen and sophomores at CU across the board, most of their courses are going to be taught by (lecturers), graduate students or teaching professors,” she said. At the undergraduate level, 72% of student credit hours are taught by teaching professors, lecturers and graduate students, according to CU Boulder’s Office of Data Analytics. Teaching professors teach 43% of the credit hours, nontenured and nonteaching professors like lecturers teach 18% of the credit hours and graduate students teach 11% of the credit hours. Tenure-track faculty teach 28% of undergraduate student credit hours. At the graduate level, 67% of credit hours are taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty. The university tracks credit hours rather than the number of classes. Newsom said he could give more to his students if he wasn’t being crushed by the amount of work for so little pay. The hour-and-a-half commute by bus from Broomfield, the second job, trying to take care of his family — it all takes a toll. “You start to get burnt out after a while and you can’t give as much as you like to,” Newsom said, adding, “I feel like we’re all just trying to make it work but I know I could be giving them so much more if I had the kind of financial freedom to not work another job or have to teach in the summer.” Mueksch said any employee who needs support can contact their department chair, supervisor or Human Resources unit if they feel comfortable doing so. She said employees have access to various resources including on-campus food pantries and online wellness programs. “CU Boulder is committed to supporting all of its employees to ensure they have the resources needed to fulfill their job duties,” Mueksch wrote. Norcross said it’s a moral imperative for the university to pay its faculty better, especially lecturers. “Many of our courses are taught by lecturers, and as a university, we have an obligation to our students, and if we don’t treat our lecturers well, we don’t give them decent working conditions, we can’t expect them to do an optimal job teaching,” Norcross said. “We owe it to the students as well as the lecturers to make sure that our faculty have good working conditions because you’re much more likely to do a good job teaching if you’re not constantly worrying about whether you can make ends meet.” Students at CU Boulder don’t know how things might be different if their instructors had more time for them, Harrington said. “Their commitment to the work I think can mask the detriment to students, in a way, because they’re giving their all and I think students don’t know necessarily what else might be available to them, for example, if the person who’s teaching them isn’t pushed to their limits,” she said. Students may be on the cusp of dropping out or failing, for example, and the instructor simply doesn’t have the time to reach out. Harrington said the solution could be twofold: pay faculty better, and retention will improve. “Actually paying people well that are teaching first-year students would be the best investment that you could make in retention because then they would have the time and availability to provide the mentorship that will help students want to stay in college and to feel like there’s somebody at the university who really cares about them,” she said. Newsom believes there needs to be a change in the structure of higher education. He feels administration and research are valued more than teaching, and within teaching, there’s a large pay gap between tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. Outside of the classroom, he said many janitors, kitchen workers and office administrators earn $40,000 and have worked at CU Boulder for years. Meanwhile, upper-level administrators are making between $200,000 and $400,000 or more annually. “There needs to be a change. It’s not sustainable,” Newsom said. “We are going to be rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship. We’re just staving off the inevitable until a change is made. We can’t keep paying administrators exorbitant salaries. We can’t keep charging students more and more and more to go to school and we can’t keep paying faculty so little, and not just faculty, but staff too.” Norcross said the problem comes down to a lack of funding. Colorado is one of the lowest states in terms of higher education funding granted by the state, placing 48th in the nation in fiscal year 2023 by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. “To be fair, most of the people we talk to about this are receptive to the concerns but it’s always going to come down to the bottom line, which is the question of funding and the question of whether we have the money to do the things we need to do,” Norcross said. Rent, a car payment and groceries: these are the expenses Shayna Khachadoorian had to choose between as an academic advisor and staff member at CU Boulder. Her $50,000 salary wasn’t enough to live in Boulder County, so she found an apartment in Broomfield where she struggled to survive as a single woman. “Paycheck to paycheck is not descriptive enough,” Khachadoorian said. “My colleagues, fellow academic advisors, had to feed me and give me groceries. That’s the level of food insecurity we’re talking.” As an academic advisor, Khachadoorian offers everything from mental health support to advice on a class schedule to the next steps after a student has failed every class at CU Boulder. She started visiting food pantries shortly after she started working at CU Boulder. “I’m supposed to be the adult that they can lean on ... and to know that at the end of the day, I have to go and get groceries from a food pantry or go to the Buffs Basic Needs Center and get groceries, that doesn’t make me feel like an adult they can rely on,” Khachadoorian said. The Buffs Basic Needs Center at CU Boulder offers mobile food pantries about once a month, and on those days, Khachadoorian would use her lunch break to rush over and pick up groceries. The mobile food pantries are open to employees, students and the general public. In the last academic year, the Mobile Food Pantry held 13 events at CU Boulder that distributed 102,261 pounds of food equating to 85,217 meals. More than 53% of the people who used the food pantries were staff, with 1,666 visits. CU Boulder employs 4,303 university staff and 819 classified staff, according to the most recent data from the fall of 2023. Classified staff are employees that are part of the state’s personnel system. Students accounted for 37.2% of the visits, with 350 undergraduate student visits and 813 graduate student visits. Faculty visits made up 3.4% of usage, or 106 visits, and community members made up 6.2%, or 195 visits. In its data, the university counts the number of visits, not the number of people. “I think that CU Boulder should be embarrassed that so many of us rely on the food pantry and Buff Pantry and Community Food Share for access to food,” Khachadoorian said. “We are an incredible institution and I love CU Boulder. I genuinely love my job and I love my students, and why can’t I afford groceries? Why do I have to debate between rent in a very expensive area and the ability to have fresh produce?” Lindsay Nelson is a 34-year-old staff member and the graduate program coordinator of the astrophysical and planetary sciences department. She lives among undergraduates in an apartment in Boulder with a roommate who is a postdoctoral researcher. “The cost of living in Boulder is so prohibitive that despite the fact that I have a master’s degree and over 10 years of experience in my field, I’ll never be able to afford to own a home here and can barely afford to rent in the city where I work,” Nelson said. Nelson makes $62,000 a year. Ideally, she’d be able to live on her own, have a parking lot without potholes and a washer and dryer inside her home. Nelson has a side job where she tutors five months out of the year to supplement her income. At CU Boulder, Nelson said there needs to be more paths to promotion and the ability to be given more responsibilities for more pay. In the short term, flexible work-from-home options and free or reduced parking on campus would also help. CU Boulder employees pay about $60 a month to park on campus. Mueksch said CU Boulder offers flexibility to work with supervisors on remote or hybrid work schedules and provides a generous benefit package to its employees, including any temporary faculty member with a 50% or greater appointment. For staff, Nelson said there needs to be more affordable housing available through the university. There’s currently no housing available for faculty and staff at CU Boulder, as the university is focused on providing housing for graduate students and their families. “CU Boulder continues to evaluate opportunities to increase attainable housing for our students, faculty and staff,” Mueksch wrote. “Earlier this year, CU Boulder acquired the former in Louisville for the purpose of building a mixed-use, transit-oriented development that includes housing for faculty, staff and possibly graduate students.” She added that the 2021 annexation of CU Boulder South also presents an opportunity to build faculty and staff housing. Boulder is also working on creating more affordable housing. The city has a goal to make 15% of all its homes . In 2024, there were 4,000 homes in this program. Kristin Oliver is a graduate research assistant in the physics department. She feels she and other graduate students are getting paid for half the amount of work they do for CU Boulder. “It makes me consider leaving grad school all the time because I feel exploited,” Oliver said. “And I’m 31, so I’m at the point in my life right where I don’t want to be living with five roommates and eating ramen noodles all the time. I’m trying to plan for my future here and it’s really hard when I feel like the work that I do, which is honestly a lot of the sort of day-to-day functioning of our research group, gets undervalued.” Oliver completes data analysis and writes research papers. During the school year, she gets paid about $3,000 a month before taxes for 20 hours of work a week. She suspects she’s among the highest-paid graduate students because her department is well-funded. Oliver’s hourly wage is high, but she said she gets paid for working 20 hours a week despite being expected to work 40 hours. The unpaid 20 hours are intended to be used for work on her dissertation, which is considered class work for credit. “People who don’t come from backgrounds where they have the ability to lean on their family for financial support, or people who might be supporting their family, it makes it really hard for those kinds of people to access higher education and graduate education,” Oliver said. CU Boulder has also made adjustments to graduate students’ compensation. “There’s been a consistent effort to increase financial support and decrease financial burdens on graduate students at CU Boulder, including increased stipends for graduate students on appointment, increased benefits including dental coverage, paid parental leave and the elimination of fees,” Mueksch wrote. Now, Khachadoorian lives in Littleton with her partner who she met during her first year at CU Boulder. She makes $2,000 more a year since she was hired and doesn’t need to visit food pantries anymore. Her financial insecurity is significantly reduced thanks to her two-income household. At the end of the day, Khachadoorian does her job because she loves her students. “It is so worthwhile to work with them and know that at the end of the day, one person at CU Boulder cares about them, and if I’m able to do that, I’ve done my job well,” Khachadoorian said. “I just need CU Boulder to care about me. I need that in return.”WESTLAKE, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2024-- Nordson Corporation (Nasdaq: NDSN) today reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31, 2024. Sales were $744 million, a 4% increase compared to the prior year’s fourth quarter sales of $719 million. The increase in fourth quarter 2024 sales included the favorable 6% impact of acquisitions and favorable currency translation of 1%, offset by an organic sales decrease of 3%. Net income was $122 million, or earnings per diluted share of $2.12, compared to prior year’s fourth quarter net income of $128 million, or earnings per diluted share of $2.22. Adjusted net income was $160 million, an increase from prior year adjusted net income of $156 million. Fourth quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per diluted share were $2.78 compared to prior year adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.71. EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $241 million, or 32% of sales, an increase of 4% compared to prior year EBITDA of $227 million, also at 32% of sales. Commenting on the Company’s fiscal 2024 fourth quarter results, Nordson President and Chief Executive Officer Sundaram Nagarajan said, “I appreciate our team’s focus and commitment to our customers, which delivered results above our fourth quarter guidance expectations. Our Advanced Technology Solutions segment delivered year-over-year fourth quarter sales growth, as electronics demand continued to steadily improve at fiscal year-end. During the down electronics cycle, our ATS team holistically implemented the NBS Next growth framework, making them responsive to the needs of our customers while also delivering a strong incremental operating performance. Our industrial product lines performed well against record comparisons from prior year. I’m also pleased with the early integration of our Atrion Medical acquisition, which contributed positively to the quarter.” Industrial Precision Solutions sales of $392 million decreased 3% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by a 5% organic sales decrease, a favorable acquisition impact of 1%, and a favorable currency impact of 1%. The organic sales decrease, following record organic sales in prior year fourth quarter, was driven by our industrial coatings, polymer processing and precision agriculture product lines, partially offset by double-digit growth in nonwovens product lines. Operating profit was $126 million in the quarter, or 32% of sales, a decrease of 4% compared to the prior year operating profit. The decrease in operating profit was driven by lower sales. EBITDA in the quarter was $143 million, or 37% of sales, a 3% decrease from the prior year fourth quarter EBITDA of $148 million, which also was 37% of sales. Medical and Fluid Solutions sales of $200 million increased 19% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven primarily by the acquisition of Atrion, which offset an organic sales decrease of 3% and a favorable currency impact of 1%. The organic sales decrease was driven by softness in medical interventional solutions product lines, partially offset by modest growth in our medical fluid components and fluid solutions product lines. Operating profit totaled $44 million in the quarter, or 22% of sales, a decrease of 8% compared to the prior year operating profit. EBITDA in the quarter was $72 million, or 36% of sales, an increase versus the prior year fourth quarter EBITDA of $62 million, or 37% of sales. Advanced Technology Solutions sales of $152 million increased 5% compared to the prior year fourth quarter, driven by an organic sales increase of 4% and a favorable currency impact of 1%. The organic sales increase was driven by double-digit growth in select test and inspection product lines and modest growth in our electronics processing product lines. Operating profit totaled $33 million in the quarter, or 22% of sales, an increase of 6% compared to the prior year operating profit due to higher sales and improved profit margins. EBITDA in the quarter was $41 million, or 27% of sales, an increase from the prior year fourth quarter EBITDA of $35 million, or 24% of sales. Sales for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2024, were a record $2.7 billion, an increase of 2% compared to the prior year. This sales growth was driven by a favorable acquisition impact of 5%, partially offset by a 3% decrease in organic volume. Net income was $467 million, or earnings per diluted share of $8.11, compared to prior year’s net income of $487 million, or earnings per diluted share of $8.46. Adjusted net income was $561 million, a decrease from prior year adjusted net income of $567 million. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $9.73 compared to prior year adjusted earnings per diluted share of $9.85. EBITDA was $849 million, or 32% of sales, compared to prior year EBITDA of $819 million, or 31% of sales. Free cash flow for the full-year was $492 million, which was a conversion rate of 105% of net income. Reflecting on fiscal 2024, Mr. Nagarajan continued, “In 2021, we launched our Ascend strategy with the milestone of achieving $3 billion in annual sales and greater than 30% EBITDA margins by 2025. The strategy is delivering results and has ample runway to accelerate. Our diversified portfolio, built on our leadership in niche end markets with differentiated products, is delivering balanced results in the ever-changing macro environment. Our acquisition strategy is generating growth, and I am pleased with the integration and deployment of the NBS Next growth framework. We also continued to generate strong free cash flow in the year, allowing us to consistently reinvest in the business while returning cash to our shareholders.” Following four consecutive years of record-setting performance, we enter fiscal 2025 with approximately $580 million in backlog. Based on the combination of order entry, backlog, current exchange rates and anticipated end market expectations, we anticipate delivering sales in the range of $2,750 to $2,870 million in fiscal 2025. Full year fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings are forecasted in the range of $9.70 to $10.50 per diluted share. First quarter fiscal 2025 sales are forecasted in the range of $615 to $655 million with adjusted earnings in the range of $1.95 to $2.15 per diluted share. Commenting on fiscal 2025 guidance, Nagarajan said, “Considering the evolving global macro-environment, we are entering 2025 with a conservative viewpoint. The fiscal first quarter is seasonally Nordson’s weakest quarter due to the holiday and calendar year-end slowdowns and cautious customer spending. While we remain confident about the long-term growth drivers of our end markets, we are being prudent about our expectations for end market recovery timing, particularly for our electronics and agricultural product lines. Even in uncertain times, our team delivers operational excellence and strong cash flow due to our close-to-the-customer business model, diversified niche end markets, differentiated products and the NBS Next growth framework.” Nordson management will provide additional commentary on these results and outlook during its previously announced webcast on Thursday, December 12, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. eastern time, which can be accessed at . Information about Nordson’s investor relations and shareholder services is available from Lara Mahoney, vice president, investor relations and corporate communications at (440) 204-9985 or . Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “continue,” “target,” or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. These statements reflect management’s current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, U.S. and international economic conditions; financial and market conditions; currency exchange rates and devaluations; possible acquisitions, including the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; the Company’s ability to successfully divest or dispose of businesses that are deemed not to fit with its strategic plan; the effects of changes in U.S. trade policy and trade agreements; the effects of changes in tax law; and the possible effects of events beyond our control, such as political unrest, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, acts of terror, natural disasters and pandemics, including the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the other factors discussed in Item 1A (Risk Factors) in the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and in its Forms 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which should be reviewed carefully. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release. Nordson Corporation is an innovative precision technology company that leverages a scalable growth framework through an entrepreneurial, division-led organization to deliver top tier growth with leading margins and returns. The Company’s direct sales model and applications expertise serves global customers through a wide variety of critical applications. Its diverse end market exposure includes consumer non-durable, medical, electronics and industrial end markets. Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, the Company has operations and support offices in over 35 countries. Visit Nordson on the web at , , or . NORDSON CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands except for per-share amounts) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 Cost of sales 341,658 335,220 1,203,792 1,203,227 Gross profit 402,824 384,093 1,486,129 1,425,405 Gross margin % 54.1 % 53.4 % 55.2 % 54.2 % Selling & administrative expenses 223,932 199,054 812,128 752,644 Operating profit 178,892 185,039 674,001 672,761 Interest expense - net (27,282 ) (25,921 ) (84,011 ) (56,825 ) Other income (expense) - net (3,538 ) 1,462 (4,509 ) (597 ) Income before income taxes 148,072 160,580 585,481 615,339 Income taxes 25,904 32,802 118,197 127,846 Net Income $ 122,168 $ 127,778 $ 467,284 $ 487,493 Weighted-average common shares outstanding: Basic 57,188 57,020 57,176 57,090 Diluted 57,603 57,552 57,616 57,631 Earnings per share: Basic earnings $ 2.14 $ 2.24 $ 8.17 $ 8.54 Diluted earnings $ 2.12 $ 2.22 $ 8.11 $ 8.46 NORDSON CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Cash and cash equivalents $ 115,952 $ 115,679 Receivables - net 594,663 590,886 Inventories - net 476,935 454,775 Other current assets 87,482 67,970 Total current assets 1,275,032 1,229,310 Property, plant & equipment - net 544,607 392,846 Goodwill 3,280,819 2,784,201 Other assets 900,508 845,413 $ 6,000,966 $ 5,251,770 Notes payable and debt due within one year $ 103,928 $ 115,662 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 424,549 466,427 Total current liabilities 528,477 582,089 Long-term debt 2,101,197 1,621,394 Other liabilities 439,100 450,227 Total shareholders' equity 2,932,192 2,598,060 $ 6,000,966 $ 5,251,770 NORDSON CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Cash flows from operating activities: Net Income $ 467,284 $ 487,493 Depreciation and amortization 136,175 111,898 Other non-cash items 5,883 16,105 Changes in operating assets and liabilities and other (53,149 ) 25,786 Net cash provided by operating activities 556,193 641,282 Cash flows from investing activities: Additions to property, plant and equipment (64,410 ) (34,583 ) Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired (789,996 ) (1,422,780 ) Other - net 10,008 20,484 Net cash used in investing activities (844,398 ) (1,436,879 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Issuance (repayment) of long-term debt 464,353 976,043 Repayment of finance lease obligations (6,148 ) (6,840 ) Dividends paid (161,438 ) (150,356 ) Issuance of common shares 31,067 21,373 Purchase of treasury shares (33,339 ) (89,708 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 294,495 750,512 Effect of exchange rate change on cash (6,017 ) (2,693 ) Net change in cash and cash equivalents 273 (47,778 ) Cash and cash equivalents: Beginning of period 115,679 163,457 End of period $ 115,952 $ 115,679 NORDSON CORPORATION SALES BY GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENT (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Sales Variance October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Organic Acquisitions Currency Total Industrial precision solutions $ 392,150 $ 405,436 (5.5 )% 1.2 % 1.0 % (3.3 )% Medical and fluid solutions 200,223 168,632 (3.2 )% 21.4 % 0.5 % 18.7 % Advanced technology solutions 152,109 145,245 3.9 % — % 0.8 % 4.7 % Total sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 (3.0 )% 5.7 % 0.8 % 3.5 % Americas 323,170 315,635 (6.0 )% 8.9 % (0.5 )% 2.4 % Europe 185,350 184,297 (6.6 )% 4.6 % 2.6 % 0.6 % Asia Pacific 235,962 219,381 4.2 % 2.0 % 1.4 % 7.6 % Total sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 (3.0 )% 5.7 % 0.8 % 3.5 % Twelve Months Ended Sales Variance October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Organic Acquisitions Currency Total Industrial precision solutions $ 1,484,249 $ 1,391,046 0.1 % 6.6 % — % 6.7 % Medical and fluid solutions 695,452 660,316 (0.2 )% 5.4 % 0.1 % 5.3 % Advanced technology solutions 510,220 577,270 (11.4 )% — % (0.2 )% (11.6 )% Total sales $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 (2.5 )% 4.8 % — % 2.3 % Americas 1,178,626 1,149,760 (1.9 )% 4.3 % 0.1 % 2.5 % Europe 726,100 682,676 (5.1 )% 10.2 % 1.3 % 6.4 % Asia Pacific 785,195 796,196 (1.0 )% 1.0 % (1.4 )% (1.4 )% Total sales $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 (2.5 )% 4.8 % — % 2.3 % NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - NET INCOME TO EBITDA (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Net income 122,168 127,778 467,284 487,493 Income taxes 25,904 32,802 118,197 127,846 Interest expense - net 27,282 25,921 84,011 56,825 Other expense - net 3,538 (1,462 ) 4,509 597 Depreciation and amortization 36,528 31,261 136,175 111,898 Inventory step-up amortization (1) 4,759 4,556 7,703 8,862 Severance and other (1) 12,717 — 17,332 5,487 Acquisition-related costs (1) 8,200 6,244 13,957 19,966 EBITDA (non-GAAP) (2) 241,096 227,100 849,168 818,974 (1) Represents severance as well as fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions. (2) EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations. EBITDA is defined as operating profit plus certain adjustments, such as severance, fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions, plus depreciation and amortization. NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - EBITDA (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Industrial precision solutions $ 392,150 $ 405,436 $ 1,484,249 $ 1,391,046 Medical and fluid solutions 200,223 168,632 695,452 660,316 Advanced technology solutions 152,109 145,245 510,220 577,270 Total sales $ 744,482 $ 719,313 $ 2,689,921 $ 2,628,632 Industrial precision solutions $ 126,254 $ 131,450 $ 470,559 $ 460,889 Medical and fluid solutions 44,264 48,041 187,731 189,367 Advanced technology solutions 33,464 31,526 94,231 101,662 Corporate (25,090 ) (25,978 ) (78,520 ) (79,157 ) Total operating profit $ 178,892 $ 185,039 $ 674,001 $ 672,761 Industrial precision solutions $ 2,899 $ 4,658 $ 8,976 $ 4,658 Medical and fluid solutions 10,761 — 10,761 1,479 Advanced technology solutions 3,816 — 5,895 14,304 Corporate 8,200 6,142 13,360 13,874 Total adjustments $ 25,676 $ 10,800 $ 38,992 $ 34,315 Industrial precision solutions $ 14,035 $ 12,062 $ 56,856 $ 33,228 Medical and fluid solutions 17,239 13,547 58,061 54,988 Advanced technology solutions 3,340 3,529 13,433 15,185 Corporate 1,914 2,123 7,825 8,497 Total depreciation & amortization $ 36,528 $ 31,261 $ 136,175 $ 111,898 Industrial precision solutions $ 143,188 37 % $ 148,170 37 % $ 536,391 36 % $ 498,775 36 % Medical and fluid solutions 72,264 36 % 61,588 37 % 256,553 37 % 245,834 37 % Advanced technology solutions 40,620 27 % 35,055 24 % 113,559 22 % 131,151 23 % Corporate (14,976 ) (17,713 ) (57,335 ) (56,786 ) Total EBITDA $ 241,096 32 % $ 227,100 32 % $ 849,168 32 % $ 818,974 31 % (1) Represents severance as well as fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions. (2) EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations. EBITDA is defined as operating profit plus certain adjustments, such as severance, fees and non-cash inventory charges associated with acquisitions, plus depreciation and amortization. NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND EARNINGS PER SHARE (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 October 31, 2024 October 31, 2023 Operating profit $ 178,892 $ 185,039 $ 674,001 $ 672,761 Other / interest expense - net (30,820 ) (24,459 ) (88,520 ) (57,422 ) Net income 122,168 127,778 467,284 487,493 Diluted earnings per share $ 2.12 $ 2.22 $ 8.11 $ 8.46 Shares outstanding - diluted 57,603 57,552 57,616 57,631 Inventory step-up amortization $ 4,759 $ 4,556 $ 7,703 $ 8,862 Severance and other 12,717 — 17,332 5,487 Acquisition costs 8,200 6,244 13,957 19,966 $ 19,560 $ 17,880 $ 76,972 $ 59,719 908 6,817 908 6,817 Total adjustments $ 46,144 $ 35,497 $ 116,872 $ 100,851 Adjustments net of tax $ 38,071 $ 28,247 $ 93,278 $ 79,898 EPS effect of adjustments and other discrete tax items $ 0.66 $ 0.49 $ 1.62 $ 1.39 Adjusted net income (1) $ 160,239 $ 156,025 $ 560,562 $ 567,391 Adjusted earnings per share (2) $ 2.78 $ 2.71 $ 9.73 $ 9.85 (1) Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP measure defined as net income plus tax effected adjustments and other discrete tax items. (2) Adjusted earnings per share is a non-GAAP measure defined as GAAP EPS adjusted for tax effected adjustments and other discrete tax items. NORDSON CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES - OPERATING CASH FLOW TO FREE CASH FLOW (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) Year to Date October 31, 2024 July 31, 2024 April 30, 2024 January 31, 2024 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 556,193 $ 459,812 $ 294,964 $ 172,356 Additions to property, plant and equipment (64,410 ) (43,786 ) (21,907 ) (7,530 ) Free Cash Flow - Year to Date (1) 491,783 416,026 273,057 164,826 Free Cash Flow - Quarter to Date (2) 75,757 142,969 108,231 164,826 Net Income - Year to Date $ 467,284 Free Cash Flow Conversion (3) 105 % Year to Date October 31, 2023 July 31, 2023 April 30, 2023 January 31, 2023 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 641,282 $ 478,072 $ 287,905 $ 123,337 Additions to property, plant and equipment (34,583 ) (24,244 ) (15,349 ) (9,302 ) Free Cash Flow (1) 606,699 453,828 272,556 114,035 Free Cash Flow - Quarter to Date (2) 152,871 181,272 158,521 114,035 (1) Free Cash Flow - Year to Date is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations and is defined as Net cash provided by operating activities minus Additions to property, plant and equipment. (2) Free Cash Flow - Quarter to Date is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations and is equal to Free Cash Flow - Year to Date less prior period Free Cash Flow - Year to Date. (3) Free Cash Flow Conversion - Year to Date is a non-GAAP measure used by management to evaluate the Company's ongoing operations and is defined as Free Cash Flow - Year to Date divided by Net Income - Year to Date. Management uses certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted net income, adjusted EPS and EBITDA, internally to make strategic decisions, forecast future results, and evaluate the Company's current performance. Given management's use of these non-GAAP measures, the Company believes these measures are important to investors in understanding the Company's current and future operating results as seen through the eyes of management. In addition, management believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in enabling them to better assess changes in the Company's core business across different time periods. Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures to other companies' non-GAAP financial measures, even if they have similar names. Amounts may not add due to rounding. View source version on : CONTACT: Lara Mahoney Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications 440.204.9985 KEYWORD: OHIO UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ELECTRONIC DESIGN AUTOMATION PACKAGING ENGINEERING SEMICONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING OTHER MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Nordson Corporation Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/11/2024 04:30 PM/DISC: 12/11/2024 04:32 PMBUIES CREEK, N.C. (AP) — Tyrell Greene Jr. ran for three touchdowns, Devin Matthews added 134 yards on the ground with a score and Towson beat Campbell 45-23 on Saturday. Greene scored on a 7-yard run with 12:55 remaining, and after Tigers’ Will Middleton intercepted a Mike Chandler II pass, he broke loose for a 30-yard touchdown that stretched the Towson lead to 35-16 about 30 seconds later. Green also had a 3-yard TD run in the second quarter and finished with 41 yards rushing on nine carries. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content.Chelsea’s surprise defeat at home to Fulham earlier in the day had been an unexpected gift for Arne Slot’s side and they drove home their advantage by outclassing the struggling Foxes. Having overcome the early setback of conceding to Jordan Ayew, with even the travelling fans expressing their surprise they were winning away after taking just five points on the road this season, the home team had too much quality. That was personified by the excellent Cody Gakpo, whose eighth goal in his last 14 appearances produced the equaliser in first-half added time with the Netherlands international unlucky to have a second ruled out for offside by VAR. Further goals from Curtis Jones and Mohamed Salah, with his 19th of the season, stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 22 matches. For Leicester, who had slipped into the bottom three after Wolves’ win over Manchester United, it is now one win from the last 10 in the league and Ruud van Nistelrooy has plenty of work to do, although he was not helped here by the absence of leading scorer Jamie Vardy through injury. It looked liked Liverpool meant business from the off with Salah’s volley from Gakpo’s far-post cross just being kept out by Jakub Stolarczyk, making his league debut after former Liverpool goalkeeper Danny Ward was omitted from the squad having struggled in the defeat to Wolves. But if the hosts thought that had set the tone they were badly mistaken after being opened up with such simplicity in only the sixth minute. Stephy Mavididi broke down the left and his low cross picked out Ayew, who turned Andy Robertson far too easily, with his shot deflecting off Virgil van Dijk to take it just out of Alisson Becker’s reach. With a surprise lead to cling to Leicester knew they had to quell the storm heading their way and they began by trying to take as much time out of the game as they could, much to Anfield’s frustration. It took a further 18 minutes for Liverpool to threaten with Gakpo cutting in from the left to fire over, a precursor for what was to follow just before half-time. That was the prompt for the attacks to rain down on the Foxes goal, with Salah’s shot looping up off Victor Kristiansen and landing on the roof of the net and Robertson heading against a post. Gakpo’s inclination to come in off the left was proving a problem for the visitors, doing their utmost to resist the pressure, but when Salah curled a shot onto the crossbar on the stroke of half-time it appeared they had survived. However, Gakpo once again drifted in off the flank to collect an Alexis Mac Allister pass before curling what is fast becoming his trademark effort over Stolarczyk and inside the far post. Early the second half Darwin Nunez fired over Ryan Gravenberch’s cross before Jones side-footed home Mac Allister’s cross after an intricate passing move inside the penalty area involving Nunez, Salah and the Argentina international. Leicester’s ambition remained limited but Patson Daka should have done better from a two-on-one counter attack with Mavididi but completely missed his kick with the goal looming. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/IqmAsKylLR — Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 26, 2024 Nunez forced a save out of the goalkeeper before Gakpo blasted home what he thought was his second only for VAR to rule Nunez was offside in the build-up. But Liverpool’s third was eventually delivered by the left foot of Salah, who curled the ball outside Kristiansen, inside Jannick Vestergaard and past Stolarczyk inside the far post.

Syria's embassy in Lebanon suspends services as Lebanon hands over former Syrian army officersZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia scored a major win in its campaign to attract major sports events to the kingdom when it was formally appointed as the 2034 World Cup host on Wednesday. Still, many questions remain about the tournament as well as the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three games in South America. Here are some of the key issues that need to be answered over the next decade: Where will games be played? Saudi Arabia proposes 15 stadiums — eight still on paper — in five cities: Eight in the capital Riyadh, four in the Red Sea port city Jeddah, and one each in Abha, Al Khobar and Neom, the planned futuristic mega-project. Each would have at least 40,000 seats for World Cup games. The opening game and final are set for a 92,000-seat venue planned in Riyadh. Some designs are vivid . In Neom, the stadium is planned 350 meters (yards) above street level and one near Riyadh is designed to be atop a 200-meter cliff with a retractable wall of LED screens. Saudi Arabia aims to host all 104 games, though there has been speculation that some games could be played in neighboring or nearby countries. When will the World Cup be played? Surely not in the traditional World Cup period of June-July, when temperatures in Saudi Arabia routinely exceed 40 Celsius (104 degrees). FIFA moved the Qatar-hosted World Cup to November-December 2022, though those dates were not loved by most European clubs and leagues whose seasons were interrupted. Also, that slot is complicated in 2034 by the holy month of Ramadan through mid-December and Riyadh hosting the multi-sport Asian Games. January 2034 could be a possibility even though that would be just before the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The International Olympic Committee has signaled it won’t be opposed to back-to-back major events. In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Saudi World Cup bid official Hammad Albalawi said the precise dates of the tournament are up the world soccer body. “That’s a decision by FIFA. We stand ready to be part of this conversation. But ultimately it’s a FIFA decision together with the confederations,” Albalawi said. Will stadiums be segregated for men and women? Giving more rights and freedoms to women in a traditionally conservative society is fundamental to Saudi messaging around the modernization program known as Vision 2030. The kingdom decided in 2017 to let women attend sports events, initially in major cities and in family zones separate from men-only sections. By 2034, at the promised pace of social reforms, female fans should not be restricted. Saudi Arabia launched a women’s professional soccer league in 2022 with players joining from clubs in Europe. They face no restrictions playing in shorts and with hair uncovered. Will alcohol be allowed at the venues or hotels? The Saudi prohibition of alcohol is clear and understood before FIFA signs any sponsor deals for 2034. But will there be any exceptions? The alcohol issue was problematic for the World Cup in Qatar because the expectation was created that beer sales would be allowed at stadiums even before Qatar won its bid in 2010. One year later, FIFA extended a long-time deal to have Budweiser as the official World Cup beer through 2022. Qatar then backtracked on that promise three days before the first game, causing confusion and the sense of a promise broken. In Qatar, alcohol was served only at luxury suites at the stadiums. Visitors could also have a drink in some hotel bars. But Saudi Arabia has even stricter rules on alcohol — and there is no indication that will change. Albalawi noted that Saudi Arabia has successfully hosted dozens of sports events where alcohol wasn't served. “We’re creating a safe and secure family environment for fans to bring their families into our stadiums,” he said. How will workers rights be protected? Saudi promises to reform and enforce labor laws, and fully respect migrant workers, have been accepted by FIFA but face broad skepticism from rights groups and trade unions. A formal complaint is being investigated by the U.N.-backed International Labor Organization. Protecting the migrant workers needed to build stadiums and other tournament projects — a decade after it was a defining issue for Qatar — looms as a signature challenge for Saudi Arabia. Would Israel be allowed to play if it qualified for the 2034 World Cup? Saudi-Israeli relations had been improving when FIFA all but gave the 2034 World Cup to the kingdom on Oct. 4 last year. Three days later Hamas attacked Israel and diplomacy got more complicated. Any soccer federation bidding to host a FIFA tournament accepts a basic principle that whichever team qualifies is welcome. That did not stop Indonesia putting up barriers last year to Israel coming for the men’s Under-20 World Cup. Indonesia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel which had qualified through a European tournament nine months before the issue flared. FIFA moved the entire tournament to Argentina and the Israeli team reached the semifinals. Israel played at the 1970 World Cup but has never advanced through qualifying in Europe, where it has been a member of UEFA for 30 years. Europe should have 16 places in the 48-team World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Where will the final of the 2030 World Cup be played? Most of the attention at the FIFA Congress on Wednesday was on the Saudi decision, but the soccer body and its members also formally approved the hosts of the 2030 World Cup — the most spread out and longest ever. One game each in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, the original host in 1930, will be played from June 8-9. The tournament resumes four days later for the other 101 games shared between Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Six countries, three continents, multiple languages and currencies. Fans traveling on planes, trains, automobiles and boats across about 14 kilometers (10 miles) of water between Spain and Morocco. The final is due on July 21, 2030 and a decision on where it will be played could cause some tension between the host countries. Morocco wants it in the world’s biggest soccer venue — the planned 115,000-seat King Hassan II Stadium in Casablanca. Spain, meanwhile, has proposed to host the final in either of the remodeled home stadiums of club giants Real Madrid or Barcelona. Associated Press writer Baraa Anwer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.Andy Murray to coach long-time rival Novak Djokovic at Australian Open

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