MEDINA, OH - RPM International Inc. reported sharp gains in net sales, net income and diluted earnings per share for its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter and year ended May 31, 2012.

Net sales, net income and diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were all up significantly over prior-year results. Net sales grew 12.2 percent to a record $1.1 billion from $981.8 million in fiscal 2011. Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased 16.5 percent to $139.5 million from $119.8 million a year ago. Net income was up 17.7 percent to $82.6 million from $70.2 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share improved 16.7 percent to $0.63 from $0.54 in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter.

"Our operating companies posted an excellent finish to the fiscal year by delivering double-digit increases in sales and net income over last year's strong fourth quarter," stated Frank C. Sullivan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This performance was driven by internal growth initiatives, market share gains and continued geographic expansion, despite ongoing raw material challenges and an uncertain global economy."

Industrial segment sales grew 15.8 percent to $724.8 million in the fiscal 2012 fourth quarter from $625.9 million a year ago. Net sales for RPM's consumer segment grew 5.9 percent to $377.0 million from $355.9 million in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter.

Fiscal 2012 consolidated net sales, net income and earnings per share saw double-digit increases. Net sales were up 11.7 percent to a record $3.8 billion from $3.4 billion in fiscal 2011. Consolidated EBIT increased 14.9 percent to $396.1 million from $344.8 million in fiscal 2011. Net income improved 14.2 percent to a record $215.9 million from $189.1 million in fiscal 2011. Diluted earnings per share grew 13.8 percent to a record $1.65 from $1.45 a year ago.

Sales for RPM's industrial segment increased 12.2 percent to $2.5 billion from $2.3 billion in fiscal 2011. Consumer segment sales for fiscal 2012 improved 10.7 percent to $1.24 billion from $1.12 billion reported last year.

"While we are planning for another year of continued improvement in sales and earnings, we anticipate growth will be at a more moderate pace in our 2013 fiscal year. In our core North American markets, we see consumers returning to more normal spending patterns for home maintenance, repair and redecorating. We also expect continuing modest momentum in residential and commercial construction spending.  We are experiencing some slowdown in the pace of growth and investment for the industrial markets we serve, due in part to the uncertainty that exists around the November U.S. Presidential election. We are beginning to see declines in sales and earnings across some of our European operations. This is compounded by the continuing deterioration of the euro versus the U.S. dollar.  On the plus side, we are seeing stabilization in raw material costs for the first time in many years and are hopeful that we will be able to maintain or improve our gross margin profitability for the year," Sullivan stated.

"Based on these factors, we expect consumer segment growth to be in the range of 5 percent to 7 percent and that our industrial segment will grow 6 percent to 10 percent, driving RPM consolidated sales and earnings up year over year in a range of 5 percent to 10 percent for our fiscal year ending May 31, 2013."