Preformed Line Products reported sharply higher third-quarter sales and earnings, with growth led by its U.S. business and supported by stronger energy and communications demand. Profitability also improved, though the comparison with last year is affected by charges tied to terminating the company’s U.S. pension plan in the third quarter of 2025.
The company also posted an investor presentation on its website on October 28; the announcement did not describe its contents.
Key details
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Third-quarter sales rose 18% to $209.5 million, from $178.1 million a year earlier. Gross margin increased to 33.4%, up 3.7 percentage points from the prior-year quarter.
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Net income was $18.0 million, or $3.56 per diluted share, compared with $2.6 million, or 53 cents per share, in the third quarter of 2025. Excluding the effect of last year’s U.S. pension-plan termination charges, diluted earnings per share increased 70%. The company did not provide the adjusted per-share figures in the announcement.
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Higher sales volumes, a more favorable product mix, better absorption of fixed costs and price increases implemented in 2025 and early 2026 contributed to the earnings improvement. Higher selling and freight costs, spending on personnel to support growth, and tariffs partly offset those gains.
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The U.S. business continued to drive growth, primarily through sales in the electric transmission and distribution markets. In the Americas outside that reported U.S. performance, sales grew 7% on a constant-currency basis, helped by the May acquisition of Delta Star Conetores Electricos Ltda and higher communications volumes. Asia-Pacific sales increased 17% on a constant-currency basis, driven by energy-related sales.
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Currency translation added $3.1 million to third-quarter sales and had a favorable $0.4 million effect on quarterly net income.
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For the first nine months of 2026, sales rose 21% to $598.5 million, from $496.2 million. All segments reported higher sales, with increased energy and communications volumes; PLP-USA grew sales 28%. Currency translation added $16.2 million to nine-month sales.
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Nine-month net income was $50.1 million, or $10.18 per diluted share, compared with $26.8 million, or $5.42 per share, in the same period of 2025. After adjusting for the prior-year pension-plan termination charges, diluted EPS was up $3.20, or 46%. Higher volumes and price increases supported the gain, while personnel, selling and freight costs, tariffs and a higher effective tax rate weighed on results.
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Cash flow from operations increased 95% in the quarter and 32% over the first nine months compared with the corresponding 2025 periods. The company did not provide cash-flow amounts in the announcement.
The results show growth in both sales and earnings, with the company attributing the improvement to higher volumes, pricing and operating leverage. The headline year-over-year EPS comparisons are much steeper than the company’s adjusted growth rates because the 2025 results included pension-plan termination charges.