NTIC

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Record quarterly consolidated sales were driven by strong global demand for ZERUST corrosion prevention and Natur-Tec bioplastic solutions, despite significant geopolitical headwinds. Gross margin contracted by approximately 477 basis points due to a 30% plus increase in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) prices triggered by conflict in the Middle East and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The ZERUST oil and gas segment achieved record quarterly sales of $2.2 million, marking the first time trailing 12-month sales exceeded $10 million following sustained investment in global sales infrastructure. Natur-Tec bioplastics reached record quarterly sales of $6.1 million, though margins faced pressure from price-sensitive commodity products like bag liners and cutlery. Management attributes the net loss to temporary raw material cost spikes rather than structural operational failures, noting that operating expenses were successfully held to a 5.3% increase. Joint venture sales grew 15.1% year-over-year, reflecting improved demand across international markets, particularly as European markets show early signs of stabilization. Management expects sequential gross margin and profitability improvement in the fourth quarter as raw material prices return to August 2025 levels and pricing actions take effect. The company plans to cap major investments and hold operating expenses relatively flat in fiscal 2027, aiming for revenue growth to drive margin expansion to the bottom line. Strategic focus is shifting toward higher-margin proprietary resin formulations and food packaging applications in the Natur-Tec segment to offset commodity price competition. The pending $1.15 million sale of the Beachwood, Ohio facility is expected to close in fiscal 2027, supporting the consolidation of R&D and operations into Minnesota. Growth in the oil and gas segment is expected to continue via a multi-year $14 million contract in Brazil that is currently in a cumulative ramp-up phase. Geopolitical conflict in the Middle East remains a primary risk, having directly impacted regional operations in Dubai and indirectly inflated global base chemistry costs. The company is actively diversifying production capabilities across China, India, Vietnam, and Thailand to mitigate future tariff risks and supply chain vulnerabilities. A nonbinding letter of intent was received for the Beachwood facility, resulting in an $816,000 reclassification to assets held for sale on the balance sheet. Management is leveraging SAP-integrated AI tools and external LLMs like Claude to analyze customer-level margins and improve operational responsiveness. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management confirmed that oil and gas gross margins are higher than the corporate average and will act as a weighted average tailwind as the segment scales. While Q3 sales were slightly lower than Q2 due to project timing, several large projects were invoiced in June, providing high confidence for a strong Q4. Management clarified they do not source raw materials directly from the Middle East; the impact was a 'ripple effect' on global polyethylene prices due to trade flow disruptions. The company has spent three years establishing alternative sourcing in Southeast Asia to maintain stable gross margins during such regional volatilities. The initiative is currently in the pilot trial phase in India with potential for global replication in large agricultural markets like the US and Mexico. Management anticipates that commercial sales from this collaboration could begin in approximately one year following successful validation. While Natur-Tec revenue grew 5%, volume growth was estimated at 10% to 12%, indicating that pricing concessions were used to maintain market share in commodity lines. Future margin recovery in this segment depends on shifting the mix toward specialized food service opportunities and stabilizing input costs.

MINNEAPOLIS, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (NASDAQ: NTIC), a leading developer of corrosion inhibiting products and services, as well as bio-based and biodegradable polymer resin compounds, today reported its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Third quarter fiscal 2026 financial and operating highlights include (with growth rates on a fiscal quarter year-over-year basis): Consolidated net sales increased 12.6% to a record $24,216,000 ZERUST® industrial net sales increased 10.3% to a record $15,926,000 ZERUST® oil and gas net sales increased 72.3% to a third quarter record of $2,219,000 Natur-Tec® product net sales increased 5.0% to a record $6,070,000 NTIC China net sales were $4,480,000, compared to $4,510,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2025 Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, decreased 477 basis points to 33.6% Joint venture operating income increased 12.2% to $2,551,000 Income before income tax expense was $376,000, compared to $743,000 Net loss attributable to NTIC was $263,000, compared to net income attributable to NTIC of $122,000 Net loss per diluted share attributable to NTIC was $0.03, compared to net income per diluted share attributable to NTIC of $0.01 “Strong global demand and increasing adoption of our ZERUST® corrosion prevention and Natur-Tec® bioplastic solutions drove quarterly consolidated net sales to new record highs. Global disruptions stemming from increased conflict levels in the Middle East, including through the Strait of Hormuz, drove a significant increase in the cost of key raw materials during the quarter, and gross margin was further affected by competitive pricing pressure in our Natur-Tec® business. Together, these factors reduced our gross margin by approximately 477 basis points year-over-year. We have begun to see raw material costs ease, and the pricing and procurement initiatives we are pursuing are expected to improve gross margin and profitability in the fourth quarter,” said G. Patrick Lynch, President and CEO of NTIC. “Since reaching the profitability levels we planned for is taking longer than expected, we believe NTIC must remain focused on the initiatives within our control to drive more profitable growth, including expanding sales of our higher-margin ZERUST® oil and gas solutions and broadening Natur-Tec® applications globally. Our liquidity and financial flexibility remain solid, supported by significant capital within our joint venture network and anticipated proceeds of more than $1.0 million from the pending sale of our Beachwood, Ohio facility, which is expected to close in fiscal 2027. The resilience of our business model, continued demand for our technologies. and our focus on execution give us confidence in stronger, more profitable fourth-quarter results,” concluded Mr. Lynch. NTIC’s consolidated net sales increased 12.6% to $24,216,000 during the three months ended May 31, 2026, compared to $21,509,000 for the three months ended May 31, 2025. The year-over-year increase in third quarter sales was primarily driven by increased sales and demand for ZERUST® and Natur-Tec® products. For the nine months ended May 31, 2026, consolidated net sales increased 12.3% to $69,521,000, compared to $61,919,000 for the same period last fiscal year. The following tables set forth NTIC’s net sales by product category for the three and nine months ended May 31, 2026 and 2025, by segment: Net sales at NTIC’s joint ventures, which are not consolidated with NTIC’s financial results, increased 15.1% to $26,708,000 during the three months ended May 31, 2026, compared to $23,212,000 for the three months ended May 31, 2025. NTIC’s total income from joint venture operations increased 12.2% to $2,551,000 during the three months ended May 31, 2026, compared to $2,273,000 during the three months ended May 31, 2025. The $278,000 increase in total income from joint venture operations was primarily due to an increase in sales at NTIC’s joint ventures. Year-to-date, NTIC’s joint venture operating income was $6,869,000, compared to joint venture operating income of $6,378,000 during the nine months ended May 31, 2025. Net sales of NTIC’s joint ventures were $74,723,000 for the nine months ended May 31, 2026, compared to $66,848,000 for the nine months ended May 31, 2025. Operating expenses, as a percentage of net sales, for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 were 42.0%, compared to 44.9% for the same period last fiscal year. Year-to-date, operating expenses, as a percentage of net sales, were 42.3%, compared to 45.1% for the same period last fiscal year. Operating expenses for the three and nine months ended May 31, 2026 increased 5.3% and 5.2%, respectively. These increases were primarily due to strategic investments in ZERUST® oil and gas marketing and sales efforts. NTIC recognized $1,140,000 in other income during the nine months ended May 31, 2025, due to the receipt of a cash employee retention credit payment. No other income was recognized during the nine months ended May 31, 2026. Net loss attributable to NTIC for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 was $263,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to NTIC of $122,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the same period last fiscal year. Year-to-date, net loss attributable to NTIC was $61,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to NTIC of $1,117,000, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the same period last fiscal year. NTIC’s non-GAAP adjusted net loss, as set forth in the GAAP reconciliation at the end of this release, was $158,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2026, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net income of $228,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the same quarter last fiscal year. Year-to-date, non-GAAP adjusted net income was $257,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP adjusted net income of $595,000, or $0.07 per diluted share, for the same period last fiscal year. NTIC had working capital of $19,992,000 as of May 31, 2026, including $7,276,000 in cash and cash equivalents and an outstanding revolving line of credit and current portion of term loan balance of $14,778,000, compared to $20,439,000 of working capital as of August 31, 2025, including $7,251,000 in cash and cash equivalents and an outstanding revolving line of credit and current portion of term loan balance of $12,189,000. During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, NTIC committed to a plan to sell its Beachwood, Ohio facility, which has historically been used by the Company's ZERUST® segment. NTIC reclassified the carrying value of the property, $869,407, from property, plant and equipment, net, to assets held for sale on its consolidated balance sheet as of May 31, 2026. On May 26, 2026, NTIC received a non-binding letter of intent to purchase the property for $1,150,000 in cash, subject to a customary diligence period and execution of a definitive purchase and sale agreement. The Company expects the sale of the property to close during fiscal 2027. At May 31, 2026, NTIC had $30,360,000 of investments in joint ventures, of which $16,521,000, or 54.4% was cash, with the remaining balance mostly made up of other working capital. This is compared to $27,139,000 of investments in joint ventures, of which $13,500,000, or 49.7%, is cash, with the remaining balance mostly made up of other working capital at May 31, 2025. Conference Call and Webcast NTIC will host a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. Central Time to review its results of operations for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 and its outlook, followed by a question-and-answer session. The conference call will be available to interested parties through a webcast. To join the live call and ask a question, a participant must register using the URL below. https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIfceca2e927f94054a3cc6ad549cefed7 Once registered, the participant will receive a dial-in number and unique PIN number to access the call. The audio-only webcast can be accessed at the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/vqvp3kq8 A link to the webcast is also available on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage. Participants are advised to go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to participate in the live webcast, a replay of the webcast will be archived and accessible for approximately one year on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage. About Northern Technologies International Corporation Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets proprietary, environmentally beneficial products and services in over 65 countries either directly or via a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures, independent distributors and agents. NTIC’s primary business is corrosion prevention marketed mainly under the ZERUST® brand. NTIC has been selling its proprietary ZERUST® rust and corrosion inhibiting products and services to the automotive, general industrial, mechanical, mining, agricultural, and retail consumer markets for over 50 years and, more recently, has also expanded into the oil and gas industry. NTIC offers worldwide on-site technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. NTIC’s technical service consultants work directly with the end users of NTIC’s products to analyze their specific needs and develop systems to meet their technical requirements. NTIC also markets and sells a portfolio of bio-based and biodegradable polymer resin compounds and finished products marketed under the Natur-Tec® brand. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this release that are not historical information are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include NTIC’s beliefs that its pricing and procurement initiatives will improve gross margin and profitability in the fourth quarter and its expectation that it will execute a definitive agreement for the sale of its Beachwood facility and that the sale would close in fiscal 2027 and result in more than $1.0 million in anticipated proceeds, and other statements that can be identified by words such as “believes,” “continues,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “potential,” “outlook,” “will,” “may,” “would,” “should,” “guidance” or words of similar meaning, and the use of future dates. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of NTIC’s management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, in no particular order: the effect of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, which has had immediate and substantial effects on global trade, energy markets and financial markets; risks associated with international operations, including NTIC China, exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, tariffs, trade disputes and changes to trade regulation; the health of the U.S. and worldwide economies, including in particular the U.S. automotive industry, decreased exports of automotive products resulting from tariffs between the U.S. and both Mexico and Canada and the evolution towards electric vehicles; the effect of economic uncertainty, recessionary indicators, inflation, increased interest rates and turmoil in the global credit, financial and banking markets or perception thereof; effect of supply chain disruptions; the effect of initiatives to improve gross margin and profitability, including expanding sales of ZERUST® oil and gas solutions and broadening Natur-Tec® applications globally; the risk that the Beachwood facility sale will not be completed or will result in different than anticipated proceeds to NTIC; NTIC’s dependence on its joint ventures, relationships with joint venture partners and their success, including fees and dividend distributions; effect of economic slowdown and political unrest, including the war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East; the level of growth in NTIC’s markets; NTIC’s investments in research and development efforts; acceptance of existing and new products; timing of purchase orders under supply contracts; variability in sales to oil and gas customers and effect on quarterly financial results; increased competition; costs and effects of complying with changes in tax, fiscal, government and other regulatory policies, and rules relating to environmental, health and safety matters; and NTIC’s reliance on its intellectual property rights and the absence of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others. More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect NTIC’s operating and financial results is described in NTIC’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. NTIC urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that it faces. Additionally, NTIC undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this release contains non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income (loss) attributable to NTIC and adjusted net income (loss) attributable to NTIC per diluted share. NTIC’s reasons for use of these measures, reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and other information are included at the end of this release. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for NTIC’s financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. NORTHERN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS AS OF MAY 31, 2026 (UNAUDITED) ANDAUGUST 31, 2025 (AUDITED) NORTHERN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIESCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) FOR THE THREE AND NINE MONTHS ENDED MAY 31, 2026 AND 2025 NORTHERN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIESRECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP MEASURES(UNAUDITED, EXCEPT SHARE AND PER SHARE AMOUNTS) The accompanying press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net (loss) income attributable to NTIC and adjusted net (loss) income attributable to NTIC per diluted share, which are not calculated or presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). These non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental information and in addition to the financial measures presented in the accompanying release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. NTIC uses non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures of performance and believes these measures facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period and company to company by factoring out potential differences caused by non-recurring, unusual or infrequent charges not related to NTIC’s regular, ongoing business and other non-cash charges. NTIC also believes that the presentation of certain non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors in evaluating the company’s operations, period over period. Such non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for, or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the GAAP financial measures presented in the release. The non-GAAP financial measures in the accompanying release may differ from similar measures used by other companies. The following is a reconciliation of NTIC’s reported net (loss) income attributable to NTIC and reported net (loss) income attributable to NTIC per diluted common share to adjusted net (loss) income attributable to NTIC and adjusted net (loss) income attributable to NTIC per diluted common share, in each case, as adjusted to exclude the contribution from the receipt of an employee retention credit (ERC) payment and amortization expense. Investor and Media Contact:Matthew Wolsfeld, CFONTIC(763) 225-6600

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Consolidated Net Sales: Increased 12.6% to $24.2 million for Q3 fiscal 2026. Zerust Oil & Gas Net Sales: Increased 72.3% to $2.2 million, a quarterly record. Zerust Industrial Net Sales: Increased 10.3% year-over-year. Natur-Tec Sales: Increased 5% to $6.1 million, a quarterly record. Joint Venture Net Sales: Increased 15.1% to $26.7 million. Gross Margin: Decreased to 33.6% from 38.4% year-over-year, impacted by higher raw material costs. Net Loss: $263,000 or $0.03 per share for Q3 fiscal 2026. Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Loss: $158,000 or $0.02 per diluted share. Operating Expenses: Increased 5.3% to $10.2 million, 42% of sales. Working Capital: $20 million, including $7.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. Outstanding Debt: $14.8 million, with $11.8 million in borrowings under revolving line of credit. Investments in Joint Ventures: $30.4 million, with 54.4% in cash. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with NTIC. Is NTIC fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: July 09, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Northern Technologies International Corp (NASDAQ:NTIC) achieved record quarterly consolidated sales, driven by strong global demand for Zerust corrosion prevention and Natur-Tec bioplastic solutions. Zerust Oil & Gas sales increased by 72.3% year-over-year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter with sales over $2 million. Joint venture sales increased by 15.1% year-over-year, reflecting improved demand across various markets. The company is pursuing pricing and procurement initiatives expected to improve gross margin and profitability in the fourth quarter. NTIC's liquidity and financial flexibility remain solid, supported by significant capital within its joint venture network and anticipated proceeds from the sale of its Beachwood, Ohio facility. Higher raw material costs due to geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East negatively impacted gross margins, reducing them by approximately 477 basis points year-over-year. NTIC reported a net loss of $263,000 for the fiscal 2026 third quarter, compared to net income in the same period last year. Operating expenses increased by 5.3% year-over-year, primarily due to higher selling, general, and administrative expenses. The company's gross profit as a percentage of net sales decreased to 33.6% from 38.4% in the prior fiscal year period. Sales at NTIC China decreased slightly by less than 1%, indicating challenges in maintaining growth in that market. Q: Are you planning to separate the oil and gas business, and how profitable is it currently? A: We don't view it as a separate standalone business. We expect oil and gas revenue to be around $10 million for the year, with significant profitability expected in the fourth quarter. Gross margins in oil and gas are higher than the rest of the company, which should contribute positively to overall profitability. - Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO Q: Can you provide more details on the positive developments in Germany? A: Revenues in Germany are bouncing back, showing signs of stabilization. If energy prices stabilize, we expect continued positive trends. - Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO Q: How are you addressing raw material sourcing for Natur-Tec and reducing dependency on the Middle East? A: We are not sourcing raw materials from the Middle East. The impact was due to global price increases. We have diversified production capabilities in China, India, Vietnam, and Thailand to capitalize on tariff changes and maintain cost efficiency. - Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO Q: Can you expand on the compostable seedling cup initiative with Bayer and its potential global impact? A: The initiative is currently focused in India but has global potential. Commercialization could start in about a year, with applications possible in North America and other regions. - G. Patrick Lynch, CEO Q: How has the Middle East conflict affected your oil and gas business? A: The conflict negatively impacted the third quarter, particularly in Dubai. However, infrastructure rebuilding in the region is expected to drive future opportunities. - Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Interested in Northern Technologies International Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. NTIC posted record quarterly sales of $24.2 million, up 12.6% year over year, driven by strong demand for ZERUST corrosion prevention products and Natur-Tec bioplastics. ZERUST oil and gas revenue jumped 72.3%, while Natur-Tec sales rose 5%. Profitability was pressured by higher raw material costs tied to Middle East shipping disruptions, which cut gross margin to 33.6% from 38.4% a year earlier. The company swung to a net loss of $263,000 as polyethylene prices spiked and costs rose faster than sales. Management expects improvement in Q4 as lower input costs begin to flow through inventory and pricing actions take hold. NTIC also highlighted record oil and gas sales, growing Natur-Tec opportunities, and a planned sale of its Beachwood facility as it looks to strengthen margins and reduce debt. Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) reported record consolidated sales for its fiscal 2026 third quarter, but higher raw material costs tied to Middle East shipping disruptions pressured margins and pushed the company to a quarterly loss, executives said on the company’s earnings call. Chief Executive Officer Patrick Lynch said consolidated net sales rose 12.6% year over year to $24.2 million for the quarter ended May 31, 2026, driven by demand for the company’s ZERUST corrosion prevention products and Natur-Tec bioplastics. Sales growth included a 72.3% increase in ZERUST oil and gas revenue, a 10.3% increase in ZERUST industrial sales and a 5% increase in Natur-Tec sales. → SK Hynix’s Nasdaq Listing Could Reset the AI Memory Trade “Strong global demand and increasing adoptions of our ZERUST corrosion prevention and Natur-Tec bioplastic solutions drove quarterly consolidated sales to new record highs,” Lynch said. However, Lynch said disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, stemming from heightened conflict in the Middle East, contributed to a “significant increase” in raw material costs. He said the impact reduced gross margin by about 477 basis points from a year earlier and lowered gross profit by approximately $1 million compared with margin levels before the increase in U.S.-Iran hostilities. → 2 Short Squeezes for Summer Speculation: What the Bears Are Getting Wrong Chief Financial Officer Matt Wolsfeld said gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 33.6% in the third quarter, down from 38.4% in the prior-year period. He attributed the decline primarily to raw material cost inflation caused by the Middle East conflict and shipping disruption. NTIC reported a net loss of $263,000, or $0.03 per share, compared with net income of $122,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the same quarter last year. On a non-GAAP basis, the company posted an adjusted net loss of $158,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared with adjusted net income of $228,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, a year earlier. → How TeraWulf’s Anthropic Deal Booted Up a $19B AI Empire Operating expenses increased 5.3% to $10.2 million, reflecting higher selling, general and administrative expenses, as well as research and development expenses. As a percentage of sales, operating expenses improved to 42% from 44.9% in the prior-year quarter. Wolsfeld said polyethylene prices rose more than 30% during the quarter because of the conflict-related disruption, but later returned to August 2025 levels. He said NTIC has seen those lower costs begin to flow through inventory and has passed some cost increases on to customers. “We expect gross margin to improve sequentially for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026,” Wolsfeld said. ZERUST oil and gas sales reached $2.2 million, a third-quarter record and up 72.3% from the prior-year period. Lynch said the performance reflected investments in the company’s global sales infrastructure and wider adoption of its vapor corrosion inhibitor, or VCI, solutions in oil and gas markets. The quarter marked the fourth consecutive period in which ZERUST oil and gas sales exceeded $2 million. On a trailing 12-month basis, Lynch said the segment surpassed $10 million in sales for the first time in company history. NTIC cited higher oil and gas sales in the Middle East, North America, India and China from both new and existing customers. Lynch said the company’s pipeline includes opportunities to protect above-ground oil storage tanks, pipeline casings and offshore oil rigs from corrosion. In response to an analyst question, Wolsfeld said oil and gas gross margins are generally higher than the company average, though NTIC does not manage the business as a separate standalone division. He also said some third-quarter oil and gas projects were delayed by shipping issues and invoiced in June, which gives management more confidence in fourth-quarter results. Wolsfeld also discussed a multi-year contract in Brazil tied to offshore floating production storage and offloading units, or FPSOs. He said the contract, valued at more than $14 million over several years, is scaling up and has contributed to an approximately 70% increase in Brazil oil and gas revenue over the first nine months of fiscal 2026 compared with the prior-year period. Natur-Tec bioplastics sales rose 5% year over year to $6.1 million, also a quarterly record. Lynch highlighted opportunities in North America and India that the company believes could support growth in coming quarters. In North America, Natur-Tec was selected for the International Fresh Produce Association’s Packaging Innovation Program, where NTIC is working on compostable barrier laminate solutions for food packaging. In India, the company announced a collaboration with Bayer to develop biodegradable and compostable seedling cups for nursery applications. Lynch said the seedling cup effort is expected to begin with pilot trials in vegetable and fruit nurseries and could expand if validation is successful. During the question-and-answer session, he said the application could be implemented globally, though the current Bayer collaboration is specific to India. He said commercial sales could begin “in a year.” Wolsfeld said Natur-Tec revenue increased about 5% in both the quarter and first nine months, while volume growth was likely closer to 10% to 12% based on case quantities. He said pricing concessions in more commodity-oriented products, such as bag liners and cutlery, have weighed on margins. He added that food packaging opportunities are expected to take longer to develop because of product chemistry and customer equipment requirements, but described them as “sizable, healthier margin opportunities.” Sales from NTIC’s joint ventures, which are not consolidated in its financial statements, increased 15.1% year over year to $26.7 million. Joint venture operating income rose 12.2%, primarily due to higher sales. Lynch said the company continues to monitor European markets, particularly Germany, for signs of stabilization following years of weaker demand. Wolsfeld said revenue trends in Germany appear to be improving, though he noted energy prices and country-level economic issues remain factors. At NTIC China, third-quarter net sales declined by less than 1% to $4.5 million. Lynch said most China sales are for domestic Chinese consumption, limiting exposure to U.S. tariffs. On a trailing 12-month basis, NTIC China sales rose 12.8% to $17.8 million. As of May 31, NTIC had working capital of $20 million, including $7.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $20.4 million in working capital and $7.3 million in cash at Aug. 31, 2025. Debt totaled $14.8 million, including $11.8 million borrowed under its revolving line of credit. The company also said it plans to sell its Beachwood, Ohio, facility, historically used for its ZERUST segment. Wolsfeld said NTIC received a non-binding letter of intent to purchase the property for $1.15 million in cash, with the sale expected to close during fiscal 2027. He said the company is consolidating related operations in Minnesota. Management said it expects stronger sales and improved profitability in the fourth quarter, supported by pricing actions, procurement initiatives and expense discipline. Wolsfeld said fourth-quarter revenue is expected to be higher than third-quarter revenue while expenses remain relatively flat. “We’re now at a point where we have capped off the investments,” Wolsfeld said. “We’re holding things as flat as possible, and we’re seeing the revenue, where we expect the increased revenue to drive the gross margin dollars to the bottom line.” NTIC said it remains focused on expanding higher-margin ZERUST oil and gas opportunities, growing Natur-Tec applications globally, reducing debt through operating cash flow and improving working capital efficiency. Northern Technologies International Corporation (NASDAQ: NTIC) is a Minnesota‐based specialty chemical company that develops, manufactures and markets environmentally responsible corrosion prevention and metal surface treatment products. The company's solutions include volatile corrosion inhibitor (VCI) films, emitters, powders and liquids designed to protect ferrous and non‐ferrous metals in industrial, aerospace, defense, electronics and automotive applications. In addition, NTIC offers packaging materials, engineered coatings and specialty pretreatment chemicals that meet stringent environmental regulations while extending equipment life and reducing maintenance costs. NTIC serves a diversified global customer base, including metal fabricators, automotive suppliers, electronics manufacturers and oil and gas producers. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Northern Technologies International Q3 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. 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MINNEAPOLIS, July 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (NASDAQ: NTIC) today announced that it expects to release its fiscal 2026 third-quarter financial results on Thursday, July 9, 2026, before the market opens. A copy of the news release will be available on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage (www.ntic.com). In conjunction with NTIC’s release of its financial and operating results, investors, analysts, and other interested parties are invited to participate in a conference call with management on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Patrick Lynch, President and CEO, and Matt Wolsfeld, CFO, will review NTIC’s fiscal 2026 third-quarter financial results and outlook, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Details for the conference call are as follows. CONFERENCE CALL CONFIRMATION: NTIC Fiscal 2026 Third-Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast July 9, 2026, at 9:00 A.M. ET (8:00 A.M. CT, 7:00 A.M. MT, 6:00 A.M. PT) Live Call Participants Registration URL: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIfceca2e927f94054a3cc6ad549cefed7 To join the live call and ask a question, a participant must register using the URL above. Once registered, the participant will receive a dial-in number and unique PIN number to access the call. URL EVENTS & PRESENTATIONS WEBPAGE: The audio-only webcast can be accessed at the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/vqvp3kq8. A link to the webcast is also available on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage. Participants are advised to go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to participate in the live webcast, a replay of the webcast will be archived and accessible for approximately one year on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage. About Northern Technologies International Corporation Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets proprietary, environmentally beneficial products and services in over 65 countries either directly or via a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures, independent distributors and agents. NTIC’s primary business is corrosion prevention marketed mainly under the ZERUST® brand. NTIC has been selling its proprietary ZERUST® rust and corrosion inhibiting products and services to the automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military and retail consumer markets for over 50 years and more recently has also targeted and expanded into the oil and gas industry. NTIC offers worldwide on-site technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. NTIC’s technical service consultants work directly with the end users of NTIC’s products to analyze their specific needs and develop systems to meet their technical requirements. NTIC also markets and sells a portfolio of bio-based and biodegradable polymer resin compounds and finished products marketed under the Natur-Tec® brand. Investor and Media Contact:Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO(763) 225-6600

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Patrick Lynch Chief Financial Officer — Matt Wolsfeld Patrick Lynch: Good morning. I am Patrick Lynch, Northern Technologies International Corporation’s CEO. I am here with Matt Wolsfeld, Northern Technologies International Corporation’s CFO. Please note that a press release regarding our second quarter fiscal 2026 financial results was issued earlier this morning and is available at ntic.com. During today’s call, we will review key aspects of our fiscal 2026 second quarter financial results, provide a brief business update, and then conclude with a question-and-answer session. Please note that when we discuss year-over-year performance, we are referring to the second quarter of our fiscal 2026 in comparison to the second quarter of last fiscal year. Our results were in line with expectations. We continued to execute against our long-term growth strategy. Second quarter performance was driven by solid top-line growth across our businesses, including record second quarter ZERUST oil and gas net sales, with year-over-year growth across all geographies, reflecting the investments we have made in our global sales infrastructure and the increasing adoption of our VCI solutions within the global oil and gas industry. We have also seen continued strength at Northern Technologies International Corporation China, despite the seasonal impact of the Lunar New Year, and achieved another solid quarter of Natur-Tec growth. Overall, second quarter and year-to-date results reflect the resilience of our business model and the increasing value customers place on our corrosion prevention and compostable plastic solutions. While the macro environment, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, ongoing supply chain pressures, and continued challenges in the European economy, has become more uncertain, we remain confident in the direction of our business and the strategies we are executing to drive long-term value. The diversity of our end markets, geographic footprint, and product portfolio positions us well to navigate near-term volatility. As we move through 2026, we expect continued sales growth and improved profitability, supported by stable trends in North America and ongoing strength in Northern Technologies International Corporation China, ZERUST Oil and Gas, and Natur-Tec. So with this overview, I will examine the drivers for the second quarter in more detail. For the second quarter ended 02/28/2026, our total consolidated net sales increased 15.3% to $22.0 million as compared to the second quarter ended 02/28/2025. Broken down by business unit, this included a 72.1% increase in ZERUST oil and gas net sales, an 11.2% increase in ZERUST industrial net sales, and an 8.1% increase in Natur-Tec’s net sales. Turning to our joint venture sales, which we do not consolidate in our financial statements, total net sales for the fiscal 2026 second quarter by our joint ventures increased year over year by 18.6% to $23.5 million, reflecting improved year-over-year demand across many of our joint ventures. We continue to closely monitor trends across our European markets for signs of stabilization following years of subdued demand. As governments begin to implement targeted economic stimulus packages, we expect that any economic recovery from these stimulus packages will lead to a positive impact on our joint venture operating income in future periods, especially in Germany. Improving sales trends continued at our wholly owned Northern Technologies International Corporation China subsidiary. Fiscal 2026 second quarter net sales at Northern Technologies International Corporation China increased by 18.5% to $4.4 million, demonstrating strong demand in this geography. Furthermore, given that the majority of Northern Technologies International Corporation’s China sales are for domestic Chinese consumption, we believe Northern Technologies International Corporation China’s exposure to U.S. tariffs is limited. We expect demand in China will continue to improve in fiscal 2026, helping to support higher incremental sales and profitability in this market. We believe that China will likely become a significant market for our industrial and bioplastic segments, so we will continue to take steps to enhance our operations in this geography. Now moving on to ZERUST Oil and Gas. ZERUST Oil and Gas sales were $2.7 million, a second quarter record, and increased 72.1% from the same period last year. This growth reflects the investments we have made in our global sales infrastructure and the increasing adoption of our VCI solutions within the global oil and gas industry. A highlight of increasing ZERUST Oil and Gas adoption includes the three-year contract with an estimated total value of approximately $13.0 million we announced in November 2025 for a major offshore project with a leading global EPC company. We expect this project to ramp throughout the current fiscal year and continue through calendar 2028. This is a significant validation of our engineering capabilities, the scalability of our ZERUST Oil and Gas business, and the reputation we have built as a trusted partner to leading offshore operators. Brazil represents one of the fastest-growing deepwater markets globally, and we believe this win provides a strong foundation for continued growth and expansion across international oil and gas markets. During the second quarter, we also experienced higher year-over-year oil and gas sales in the Middle East, North America, India, and China from both new and existing customers, reflecting the contribution of recent investments we have made to enhance our sales team and add resources to support future growth. This has improved our sales pipeline; the size and number of opportunities have expanded. Our pipeline includes global opportunities to protect above-ground oil storage tanks, pipeline casings, and offshore oil rigs from corrosion. The nature of this industry will always cause certain fluctuations in ZERUST Oil and Gas sales; nevertheless, we still expect to see ZERUST Oil and Gas sales and profitability improve significantly in fiscal 2026 as we continue to leverage these investments and rein in operating expense growth. Turning to our Natur-Tec bioplastics business, second quarter Natur-Tec sales were $5.4 million, representing an 8.1% year-over-year increase in Natur-Tec sales. We continue to pursue several larger opportunities in North America and India for our Natur-Tec solutions that we believe hold significant promise to benefit our sales in the coming quarters, including advancing the compostable food packaging solution mentioned on prior calls. Overall, we believe Natur-Tec is a best-in-class compostable plastic business that is well positioned for significant future growth in the United States and abroad, and we expect sales to continue to expand throughout the year. Before I turn the call over to Matt, I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our global team of both employees and joint venture partners. Our success and our ability to navigate more complex economic periods are direct results of their efforts. With this overview, let me now turn the call over to Matt Wolsfeld to summarize our financial results for the fiscal 2026 second quarter. Matt Wolsfeld: Thanks, Patrick. Compared to the prior fiscal year period, Northern Technologies International Corporation’s consolidated net sales increased 15.3% in the fiscal 2026 second quarter, the strongest year-over-year growth rate we have achieved since fiscal 2022 because of the trends Pat reviewed in his prepared remarks. Sales across our global joint ventures increased 18.6% in the second quarter. Joint venture operating income in the second quarter increased 19.8% compared to the prior fiscal year period, primarily due to higher sales at our joint ventures. Total operating expenses for the fiscal 2026 second quarter increased 7.7% to $9.5 million, primarily due to higher selling, general, and administrative expenses, partially offset by a reduction in research and development expenses. Operating expenses as a percentage of second quarter sales were 43.2% compared to 46.2% in the prior fiscal year period. We expect quarterly sales to grow faster than operating expenses as we continue to leverage recent investments and upgrades across our global operations. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 35.7% during the three months ended 02/28/2026, compared to 35.6% during the prior fiscal year period. Higher gross margin for the second quarter was primarily due to the increase in sales. We expect gross margin to improve sequentially during fiscal 2026. As a reminder, during the second quarter last fiscal year, Northern Technologies International Corporation recognized $1.1 million in other income due to the receipt of a one-time cash employee retention credit payment. No other income was recognized in this fiscal year’s second quarter. Northern Technologies International Corporation reported a net loss of $35,000 or $0.00 per share for the fiscal 2026 second quarter compared to net income of $434,000 or $0.04 per diluted share for the fiscal 2025 second quarter. For the fiscal 2026 second quarter, Northern Technologies International Corporation’s non-GAAP adjusted net income was $70,000 or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $300,000 or a loss of $0.03 per diluted share in the fiscal 2025 second quarter. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is available in our second quarter fiscal 2026 earnings press release that was issued this morning. As of 02/28/2026, working capital was $20.2 million, including $5.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $20.4 million, including $7.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, as of 08/31/2025. As of 02/28/2026, we had outstanding debt of $14.3 million. This included $11.3 million in borrowings under our existing revolving line of credit, compared to $12.2 million as of 08/31/2025. Reducing debt through positive operating cash flow and improving working capital efficiencies is a strategic focus for fiscal 2026 and beyond. On 02/28/2026, the company had $29.7 million of investments in joint ventures, of which 51.8%, or $15.4 million, was in cash, with the remaining balance primarily invested in other working capital. In January 2026, Northern Technologies International Corporation’s board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per common share that was payable on 02/11/2026 to stockholders of record on 01/28/2026. To conclude our prepared remarks, we believe our second quarter results demonstrate the continued strength and resilience of our business, led by strong year-over-year sales growth and improving year-to-date profitability. While the macro environment remains uncertain, we are encouraged by the underlying trends across our business and the momentum we are seeing across our operations. As we move to the balance of fiscal 2026, we expect revenue growth to increasingly translate to improved profitability supported by operating leverage, disciplined expense management, and continued focus on working capital efficiencies and debt reduction. We believe these factors position us well to navigate near-term macro uncertainty while driving stronger financial performance and cash flow generation over time. With this overview, Patrick and I are happy to take your questions. Operator: As a reminder, to ask a question, please press 1-1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Our first question will come from the line of Timothy Clarkson of Van Clemens. Your line is open, Timothy. Timothy Clarkson: Hey, guys. Obviously a really good quarter revenues-wise. Earnings still not quite there, but maybe you can talk a little bit about the investments that have been made over the last year or so and where you think the investments have been worthwhile. Matt Wolsfeld: I would say there is what I will call the long-term investment and the short-term investment. The immediate investments we made over the past two years were really the hiring of a lot of people and starting the new subsidiary that we have in the UAE, specifically with the oil and gas opportunities there, and we have seen success from that entity. Part of what has fueled the oil and gas revenue increase has been some of the revenues that we have achieved in the Middle East. If I look at the breakout of oil and gas revenue, I think part of the expectation was that the increase was due to the Brazil contract, which is true, but we are really looking at a non-Brazil increase this quarter of about 85% compared to the second quarter last year and a Brazil oil and gas increase of about 55% this year compared to Q2 of last year. The growth that we are seeing in oil and gas is not localized to Brazil; it is happening based on opportunities in North America, the Middle East, and other regions. We certainly get the sense that we are starting to get traction in that area from the investment we made over the past two years. At this point in time, we are happy with those investments. We are at a point now with oil and gas where it is a transition from the work that we have been doing behind the scenes to really focusing on closing business and adding revenue to the top line that will ultimately flow down to an earnings-per-share standpoint. The other investments we have made will come through the investing section of the cash flow over the past couple of years, where you look at purchasing the building next door and making improvements to that building and adding both warehousing capability and manufacturing capability to our facility, which helped us maintain the gross margins on the new products that we have so we do not have to outsource and can achieve better gross margin for those products. We have spent about $4.0 million plus on that facility, bringing in manufacturing capabilities here. Additionally, over the past two years, we implemented a new SAP system, which certainly has been a little bit more painful to deal with, but long term I think the data that we are getting out of that SAP system and the way that we will be able to integrate things worldwide with how the company is set up with the subsidiaries around the world and the joint ventures is going to give us much better data to be able to grow from a total global company perspective. Those are really the three main investments we have made over the past two years. Although a lot of them have been difficult and certainly added to operating expense over the past two years, I think that is really what is going to fuel the company for the coming three to five years. Timothy Clarkson: Obviously, China is doing really well. There was some concern that as they transition to electric cars there would not be very much demand for ZERUST. It looks like there is still plenty of demand for ZERUST, electric cars or not. Matt Wolsfeld: China has done well, surprisingly well. If I look back at where we were selling in China when we established this subsidiary in 2014, 2015, 2016 compared to where we are now, there has been a transition between supplying the U.S.-based or European-based automotive companies to now focusing on supplying for domestic consumption, which is good given the volatility of what happens in China from an export standpoint. A lot of the increases that we have seen in China have been for domestic consumption of the ZERUST product. Timothy Clarkson: One last question. In general on the R&D end, is the R&D spend particularly on ZERUST-type products or on the compostable stuff, or some of both? Are there some new emerging technologies coming from all the R&D spending? Patrick Lynch: From the HVAC side in particular, we are very positive on what is going to happen in the food packaging, in that we are extremely confident right now that should fit. Timothy Clarkson: And that was creating the compostable packaging that does not allow moisture in, right? Patrick Lynch: Right. Timothy Clarkson: No one else has that product, right? Patrick Lynch: Right. Timothy Clarkson: One last question I will ask is, historically Northern Technologies International Corporation would net 10% at kind of optimum sales level. Is that still the goal of the company, 10% after tax? Matt Wolsfeld: It is difficult to look at it just from the standpoint of what the traditional net is because, obviously, the joint venture operating income that comes in is not included from a top-line standpoint. The big difficulty we have in the company is if you look back at the historical contributions from the joint ventures, it was significantly higher. Just looking at what we previously received from the German joint venture, that would be anywhere from $0.10 to $0.12 per share per quarter coming in, whereas now you are looking at $0.05 or $0.06 per quarter coming in. What we are seeing is that as we get back to what we expect to see in Q3 and Q4, a significant increase in the earnings compared to Q1 and Q2, it is really a matter of how the Natur-Tec business, the oil and gas business, and the industrial business offset some of the declines we have seen from the difficulties at the German joint venture, specifically dealing with the German economy. They have done a good job with what they are dealing with, given the difficulties with energy prices and things like that in Germany specifically, but it is really a matter of getting the income from the new businesses and seeing those take off to augment what have been a decline in Germany. Patrick Lynch: Thanks, Tim. Operator: Our next question will be coming from the line of Jake Patterson of Atlanta Investment Group. Your line is open, Jake. Jake Patterson: Hey, guys. Just a couple quick ones. First off, on gross margin, I know you had guided for sequential expansion and are continuing to guide for that. We saw margin kind of flattish, even down slightly quarter over quarter, and it looks like a lot of that was from Natur-Tec. I know one of the weaker margins we have seen in at least the last couple of years. I was curious what happened there and the outlook for the second half going forward on that margin. Matt Wolsfeld: There are a lot of different factors that have impacted Natur-Tec if you look back four or five quarters. Historically, it is going to be a more volatile gross margin. The reasons for the volatility are twofold. One is fluctuating input prices from the materials that we are using. Two, a bigger component is that we are doing global manufacturing for the Natur-Tec product, and there has been a lot of impact from tariffs and the change in tariffs that we have in place. When we were focused more on manufacturing in China and there was volatility with tariffs there, we saw some increases and then decreases. We are now set up, or will be set very quickly, where we are able to do manufacturing in China, Vietnam, and India, and longer term looking for some North American manufacturing capabilities for Natur-Tec. The other component to the gross margin is the selling price. We have seen that the Natur-Tec end products operate in a competitive environment, and the companies we are dealing with are dealing with razor-thin margins. At times, we have had to decrease price to remain competitive in some of those larger bids. The goal is to move forward with selling more of the proprietary resins compared to the end products that are in the more competitive space. Ultimately, there are many input factors that impact the gross profit for Natur-Tec specifically. The goal is to hold and increase gross margin as much as possible; it is just sometimes difficult depending on the region. Jake Patterson: Still on the margin side, ZERUST—just looking at the oil and gas mix relative to last year, it is 500 basis points higher and gross margin is down year over year there. Is that still any impact from that supplier issue you guys had in the first quarter? It did not seem like as much improvement as I would have thought. Matt Wolsfeld: We did continue to have the impact on inventory and the impact from supplier issues we talked about in Q1 and the carryover to Q2. The other difficulty we have that has not impacted us from a second quarter standpoint is what is going to happen in Q3 and Q4 given what is going on with energy prices and polyethylene prices worldwide. We have dealt with this before, whether during COVID or other time periods. We do our best to pass through increases in raw material prices to customers as much as possible. We are seeing an increase in some of the main base materials that go into our polyethylene-based products, so it is something to watch out for in Q3 and Q4. Jake Patterson: I saw that as, like, down the line. I think resin prices are up 60% or so, so that should be interesting to see. I guess one last one: you mentioned that the Middle East contributed to some of your oil and gas revenue growth, and they were up, I think, like 80% or something year over year. When you go look at your investor presentations, I think you break out the geographies for ZERUST Oil and Gas, and it only lists Brazil and North America, at least as of November of your fiscal 2025 year. I was curious—it sounded like there was some Middle East revenue from that geography last year, but I am assuming it is still pretty minimal at this point? Patrick Lynch: I would not say it is minimal. We previously were selling to some of these Middle East opportunities and had larger contracts with British Petroleum in Georgia and some other areas like that. We have historically sold to Reliance in India, and these sales were happening through North America. Now we are pushing some of these opportunities to be more localized in that area because they are better set up to serve that region. Those previously were going through North America. Going forward, once the subsidiary in the UAE is fully up and running, fully functional, and operating completely independently, we will break out the revenues for that area in the investor presentation. The other thing that has changed is we are using the subsidiary network that we have in place to go after the oil and gas opportunity. I mentioned specifically opportunities in India, China, and Brazil. These are all areas where we want to go after oil and gas opportunities with those subsidiaries. Some of them are also bringing in and hiring people that specialize in the oil and gas space to be able to go after those opportunities there. We will establish a regional hub in Asia, as we talked about, and in the Middle East, which makes sense. Ultimately, we are looking to push those oil and gas products out through all the subsidiaries that we have to take advantage of that network that we spent so long to build up. Jake Patterson: Gotcha. That makes sense. Cool. That is it for me. I appreciate it. Patrick Lynch: Thanks, Jake. Operator: Our next question will be coming from the line of Gus Richard of Northland Capital Markets. Gus, your line is open. Gus Richard: Thanks so much for taking the question. I want to focus on the impact of the war. You guys reported last quarter, and last quarter ended before the war started. There has been a lot of change in the world, and I am first curious if that is changing regional demand in terms of where companies or countries or regions are getting more active or less active. Matt Wolsfeld: There are a bunch of different impacts from what is happening across the board. You have the very up-close impact where the individuals that we have in the subsidiary in Dubai are getting air raid sirens and are locked in place and told not to go out at various times, and they are seeing this firsthand. A lot of the areas where they are going to sell products and do installations are on lockdown. You do have the opportunity that with some of the infrastructure that has been blown up, there will be opportunities where there is rebuilding and increased spending in those areas where they will need some corrosion protection and things like that. Then you have the secondary impact of what is happening with supply chain, energy prices, and things like that with what is going on in the Strait and relationships, which is causing energy prices to increase, which is causing raw material prices to increase, which is impacting not just Northern Technologies International Corporation, but certainly all the joint ventures and the subsidiaries. On top of that, you have subsidiaries that are further away—take, for example, Brazil—where they potentially have supply constraints from the standpoint that raw material needs to be shipped there. There are potentially shortages of the product. We are not seeing shortages of product in North America; prices are going up, but we are not seeing shortages. We are looking at certain regions around the world where they are potentially running into issues of even having raw materials in place to be able to make the product, which is different than just price increases. There are a lot of different ways where what is going on in the Middle East with the war is impacting the company. It is certainly a concern, but I think we are in a position where we are able to deal with those issues. If I look at what is happening in Brazil, we had a conversation about supply lines. We are fortunate in the way we have other subsidiaries and other entities around the world that could potentially meet customers in Brazil, meet their demand, and provide product to them. We are not sole-sourced in areas. It allows us flexibility and the ability to pick and choose what we want to go after and have options as far as picking lowest-cost suppliers and steps like that. Gus Richard: You have increases in input prices. Are you able to pass that increase on to your customers? How are you adjusting to higher input costs, and how receptive are your customers to that, or contractually? Matt Wolsfeld: The good thing we have is that initially, when things kicked off, we did build up inventory a little bit. We are doing our best to hold prices where we can, but we also do not want to be in a situation like we had in COVID where we reacted too slowly and ultimately did not raise prices for six months and we had issues. We are monitoring prices, and we are looking at raising prices where we can. Specifically, when we are selling custom-made products, based off of the price that we pay, it is easier to push that increase on the customers. The other benefit is it is not like this is an anomaly where the customers do not understand what is going on from an international standpoint and raw material pricing standpoint. They see what is happening at the gas pump. They can read and hear what is happening from supply chain and prices going up. It is easy to come in and explain and say, look, the price of polyethylene has increased by $0.20. This is how your price of our product is increasing and why. It is a matter of walking the customers through it and explaining what is happening, but we can point to very clear data that shows exactly how our input prices are increasing. That certainly helps with passing those increases on to customers and an increased final price of the die. Gus Richard: You talked about operating leverage. Does the operating leverage come from holding OpEx flat and rising revenue, or is there an opportunity to trim your OpEx? A little color there would be helpful. Matt Wolsfeld: The goal from a leveraging standpoint is to increase revenue. If we look forward at the backlog that we have and the projects that we have, the expectations are that our third and fourth quarters will be significantly better than first and second quarter. We have historically had very strong third and fourth quarters from a revenue standpoint, and I would expect that trend to continue. Second quarter is traditionally our slowest quarter from a revenue standpoint. The reason why revenues look good in the second quarter this year is because second quarter last year was down so much and was such a bad quarter from a comparative standpoint. Given where we are at from a backlog and expected projects we have to close, third and fourth quarter should really show how the company is going to get back on track from an earnings standpoint and profitability standpoint, where you can see how we are going to utilize that leverage and push as many gross margin dollars to the bottom line as possible. Holding OpEx flat or as low as possible is certainly the objective, and not necessarily cutting expenses at this point. Gus Richard: The last one for me: looking at the balance sheet, cash has declined the last five quarters in a row, or net cash has declined. Your debt has increased; the cash has kind of stayed the same. I want to understand what was driving that decline. Was it the investments in the business? What is the plan to get cash back to a better place? Can you repatriate some of the cash in some of the JVs? Any thoughts there? Matt Wolsfeld: There is a three-pronged approach. One is to bring back, from a dividend standpoint, cash at the subsidiaries and at the JV level to help increase the amount of cash we have here and ultimately get at the line of credit. The number one thing we need to do is increase earnings. If you look back quarter by quarter at what we are doing from an earnings standpoint, you are not going to be able to build your cash back. In fiscal 2025, we had virtually no earnings. In fiscal 2024, we generated $0.60 a share, which helped from a cash standpoint, but everything we did in 2025 from an earnings standpoint hurt us. A big component to our income is the equity income, which obviously is not cash coming in; it is the dividends that come in from the equity income that ultimately get you there. The goal is to increase earnings, which I think is what you are going to see in Q3 and Q4, which will help pay down the debt. The other item is the investing section from a cash flow standpoint. We made significant investments in PP&E items—the building next door—and the SAP system that we had cash out the door to fund. The actual investments that we are going to be making from a cash flow standpoint over the next few years are going to be significantly smaller than we have done in the past two years, and that is also going to significantly put more cash back on the books. I think the trend is going to start in Q3 and Q4 to work on reducing the debt exposure. Gus Richard: Got it. That is it for me. Thanks so much. Matt Wolsfeld: Great. Thanks, Gus. Operator: I am showing no further questions. I would now like to turn the call back to management for closing remarks. Patrick Lynch: I want to thank everybody for coming. Have a good morning, and wish you a good day. Operator: This concludes today’s program. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Northern Technologies International, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Northern Technologies International wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $536,003!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,116,248!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 946% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 190% for the S&P 500. 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Performance was primarily driven by a 72.1% surge in ZERUST oil and gas sales, reaching a second-quarter record due to increased adoption of VCI solutions and prior infrastructure investments. Management attributes the 15.3% consolidated revenue growth—the highest since fiscal 2022—to the realization of a multi-year investment cycle in sales personnel and global subsidiaries. NTIC China demonstrated resilience with 18.5% growth, shifting focus toward domestic Chinese consumption to mitigate potential risks from U.S. trade tariffs. The ZERUST industrial segment saw an 11.2% increase, while Natur-Tec grew 8.1%, supported by expanding opportunities in North America and India for compostable solutions. Operational leverage improved as operating expenses as a percentage of sales fell to 43.2% from 46.2%, reflecting a strategy to grow the top line faster than the cost base. Management noted that while the European economy remains subdued, they anticipate future benefits from targeted economic stimulus packages, particularly in Germany. Management expects fiscal 2026 third and fourth quarter results to be significantly stronger than the first half, following historical seasonal trends and project timelines. Profitability is projected to improve sequentially as the company leverages recent investments in a new SAP system and expanded manufacturing facilities to capture higher gross margins. The $13.0 million offshore Brazil contract is expected to ramp up throughout fiscal 2026 and provide a steady revenue stream through calendar 2028. Strategic focus for the remainder of the year is centered on reducing debt through positive operating cash flow and improving working capital efficiencies. Future growth in the Natur-Tec segment is tied to the transition from selling competitive end-products to higher-margin proprietary resins and new food packaging solutions. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Red Sea are creating supply chain pressures and increasing raw material costs, specifically for polyethylene and energy. The company is monitoring potential raw material shortages in regions like Brazil, though its global subsidiary network provides flexibility to source from alternative locations. A $1.1 million one-time employee retention credit recognized in the prior year's second quarter created a difficult year-over-year comparison for GAAP net income. Management identified a transition in the Chinese market from supplying Western automotive firms to serving domestic demand, reducing exposure to export volatility. Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management confirmed that investments in the UAE subsidiary, a new SAP system, and a $4.0 million facility expansion are now transitioning from the expense phase to the revenue-generation phase. The facility expansion allows for in-house manufacturing of new products, which is critical for maintaining gross margins by avoiding outsourcing costs. Gross margin fluctuations in bioplastics are driven by volatile input prices and global manufacturing shifts to navigate changing tariff structures in China, Vietnam, and India. Management is intentionally shifting the product mix toward proprietary resins to move away from the 'razor-thin' margins found in the highly competitive finished-bag market. The conflict has caused localized disruptions for the Dubai subsidiary, including lockdowns that affect product installations and sales activities. Management noted a potential long-term upside in 'rebuilding' opportunities for corrosion protection as infrastructure is repaired in the region. The plan to pay down the $11.3 million revolving credit line relies on increasing earnings in H2 2026 and repatriating dividends from joint ventures. Cash consumption is expected to slow significantly as the heavy capital expenditure cycle for PP&E and software implementation has largely concluded. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here.

MINNEAPOLIS, April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (NASDAQ: NTIC), a leading developer of corrosion inhibiting products and services, as well as bio-based and biodegradable polymer resin compounds, today reported its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Second quarter fiscal 2026 financial and operating highlights include (with growth rates on a fiscal quarter year-over-year basis): Consolidated net sales increased 15.3% to a record second quarter of $21,997,000 ZERUST® industrial net sales increased 11.2% to $13,967,000 ZERUST® oil and gas net sales increased 72.1% to a second quarter record of $2,666,000 Natur-Tec® product net sales increased 8.1% to $5,363,000 NTIC China net sales increased 18.5% to $4,425,000 Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, increased 10 basis points to 35.7% Joint venture operating income increased 19.8% to $2,027,000 Operating income improved to $383,000, compared to an operating loss of $(333,000) in the prior-year quarter Net loss attributable to NTIC was $35,000, compared to net income attributable to NTIC $434,000 Net loss per diluted share attributable to NTIC was $(0.00), compared to net income per diluted share attributable to NTIC of $0.04 For second quarter of fiscal 2025, NTIC recognized $1,140,000 in other income due to the receipt of an Employee Retention Credit (ERC) payment Non-GAAP adjusted net income(1) was $70,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a Non-GAAP adjusted net loss of $300,000, or $(0.03) per share for the same period last year “Our results were in line with our long-term growth strategy. Second quarter performance was driven by solid top-line growth across our businesses, including record second quarter ZERUST® oil and gas net sales, with year-over-year growth across all geographies, in accordance with the investments we have made in our global sales infrastructure and the increasing adoption of our VCI solutions within the global oil and gas industry. We have also seen consistent strength at NTIC China, despite the seasonal impact of the Lunar New Year and achieved another solid quarter of Natur-Tec® growth. Overall, second quarter and year-to-date results reflect the resilience of our business model and the increasing value customers place on our corrosion prevention and compostable plastics solutions,” said G. Patrick Lynch, President and CEO of NTIC. “While the macro environment, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, ongoing supply chain pressures, and continued challenges in the European economy, has become more uncertain, we remain confident in the direction of our business and the strategies we are executing to drive long-term value. The diversity of our end markets, geographic footprint, and product portfolio positions us well to navigate near-term volatility. As we move through the second half of fiscal 2026, we expect continued sales growth and improved profitability, supported by stable trends in North America and ongoing strength in NTIC China, ZERUST® oil and gas, and Natur-Tec®,” concluded Mr. Lynch. NTIC’s consolidated net sales increased 15.3% to $21,997,000 during the three months ended February 28, 2026, compared to $19,072,000 for the three months ended February 28, 2025. The year-over-year increase in second quarter sales was primarily driven by increased sales and demand for ZERUST® and Natur-Tec® products. For the first half of fiscal 2026, consolidated net sales increased 12.1% to $45,306,000, compared to $40,410,000 for the same period last year. The following tables set forth NTIC’s net sales by product category for the three and six months ended February 28, 2026, and 2025, by segment: Net sales at NTIC’s joint ventures, which are not consolidated with NTIC’s financial results, increased 18.6% to $23,484,000 during the three months ended February 28, 2026, compared to $19,800,000 for the three months ended February 28, 2025. NTIC’s total income from joint venture operations increased 19.8% to $2,027,000 during the three months ended February 28, 2026, compared to $1,691,000 during the three months ended February 28, 2025. The $336,000 increase in total income from joint venture operations was primarily due to an increase in sales at NTIC’s joint ventures. Year-to-date, NTIC’s joint venture operating income was $4,318,000, compared to joint venture operating income of $4,105,000 during the six months ended February 28, 2025. Net sales of NTIC’s joint ventures were $48,015,000 for the six months ended February 28, 2026, compared to $43,637,000 for the six months ended February 28, 2025. Operating expenses, as a percentage of net sales, for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 were 43.2%, compared to 46.2% for the same period last fiscal year. Year-to-date, operating expenses, as a percent of net sales, were 42.5%, compared to 45.3% for the same period last fiscal year. Operating expenses for the three and six months ended February 28, 2026 increased 7.7% and 5.2%, respectively. These increases were primarily due to strategic investments in ZERUST® oil and gas marketing and sales efforts. NTIC recognized $1,140,000 in other income during the three and six months ended February 28, 2025, due to the receipt of a cash ERC payment. No other income was recognized during the three and six months ended February 28, 2026. Net loss attributable to NTIC for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 was $35,000, or $(0.00) per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to NTIC of $434,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the same period last fiscal year. Year-to-date, net income attributable to NTIC was $202,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to NTIC of $995,000, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the same period last fiscal year. NTIC’s non-GAAP adjusted net income(1), as set forth in the GAAP reconciliation at the end of this release, was $70,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, compared to a net loss of $300,000, or $(0.03) per diluted share, for the same quarter last fiscal year. Year-to-date, non-GAAP adjusted net income was $414,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to net income of $367,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the same period last fiscal year. NTIC had working capital of $20,202,000 as of February 28, 2026, including $6,470,000 in cash and cash equivalents and an outstanding revolving line of credit and term loan balance of $14,259,000, compared to $20,439,000 of working capital as of August 31, 2025, including $7,251,000 in cash and cash equivalents and an outstanding revolving line of credit and term loan balance of $12,189,000. At February 28, 2026, NTIC had $29,748,000 of investments in joint ventures, of which $15,400,000, or 51.8%, was cash, with the remaining balance mostly made up of other working capital. Conference Call and Webcast NTIC will host a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. Central Time to review its results of operations for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 and its outlook, followed by a question-and-answer session. The conference call will be available to interested parties through a webcast. To join the live call and ask a question, a participant must register using the URL below. https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI189d44aede034eeaa9847116235afb6b Once registered, the participant will receive a dial-in number and unique PIN number to access the call. The audio-only webcast can be accessed at the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/3ffaprzx A link to the webcast is also available on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage. Participants are advised to go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those unable to participate in the live webcast, a replay of the webcast will be archived and accessible for approximately one year on the Investor Relations section of NTIC’s webpage. About Northern Technologies International Corporation Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets proprietary, environmentally beneficial products and services in over 65 countries either directly or via a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures, independent distributors and agents. NTIC’s primary business is corrosion prevention marketed mainly under the ZERUST® brand. NTIC has been selling its proprietary ZERUST® rust and corrosion inhibiting products and services to the automotive, general industrial, mechanical, mining, agricultural, and retail consumer markets for over 50 years and, more recently, has also expanded into the oil and gas industry. NTIC offers worldwide on-site technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. NTIC’s technical service consultants work directly with the end users of NTIC’s products to analyze their specific needs and develop systems to meet their technical requirements. NTIC also markets and sells a portfolio of bio-based and biodegradable polymer resin compounds and finished products marketed under the Natur-Tec® brand. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this release that are not historical information are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include NTIC’s beliefs that the diversity of its end markets, geographic footprint, and product portfolio positions NTIC well to navigate near-term volatility and that as NTIC moves through the second half of fiscal 2026, it expects continued sales growth and improved profitability, supported by stable trends in North America and ongoing strength in NTIC China, ZERUST® oil and gas, and Natur-Tec®, and other statements that can be identified by words such as “believes,” “continues,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “potential,” “outlook,” “will,” “may,” “would,” “should,” “guidance” or words of similar meaning, and the use of future dates. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of NTIC’s management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, in no particular order: the effect of the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict, which has had immediate and substantial effects on global trade, energy markets and financial markets; risks associated with international operations, including NTIC China, exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, tariffs, trade disputes and changes to trade regulation; the health of the U.S. and worldwide economies, including in particular the U.S. automotive industry, decreased exports of automotive products resulting from tariffs between the U.S. and both Mexico and Canada and the evolution towards electric vehicles; the effect of economic uncertainty, recessionary indicators, inflation, increased interest rates and turmoil in the global credit, financial and banking markets or perception thereof; effect of supply chain disruptions; dependence on joint ventures, relationships with joint venture partners and their success, including fees and dividend distributions; effect of economic slowdown and political unrest, including the war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflicts in the Middle East; the level of growth in NTIC’s markets; NTIC’s investments in research and development efforts; acceptance of existing and new products; timing of purchase orders under supply contracts; variability in sales to oil and gas customers and effect on quarterly financial results; increased competition; costs and effects of complying with changes in tax, fiscal, government and other regulatory policies, and rules relating to environmental, health and safety matters; and NTIC’s reliance on its intellectual property rights and the absence of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others. More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect NTIC’s operating and financial results is described in NTIC’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2025 and subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. NTIC urges all interested parties to read these reports to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that it faces. Additionally, NTIC undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. (1) Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this release contains non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income attributable to NTIC and adjusted net income attributable to NTIC per diluted share. NTIC’s reasons for use of these measures, reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and other information are included at the end of this release. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for NTIC’s financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. NORTHERN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP MEASURES (UNAUDITED, IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT SHARE AND PER SHARE AMOUNTS) The accompanying press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income (loss) attributable to NTIC and adjusted net income (loss) attributable to NTIC per diluted share, which are not calculated or presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). These non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental information and in addition to the financial measures presented in the accompanying release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. NTIC uses non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures of performance and believes these measures facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period and company to company by factoring out potential differences caused by non-recurring, unusual or infrequent charges not related to NTIC’s regular, ongoing business. NTIC also believes that the presentation of certain non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors in evaluating the company’s operations, period over period. Such non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for, or as an alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the GAAP financial measures presented in the release. The non-GAAP financial measures in the accompanying release may differ from similar measures used by other companies. The following is a reconciliation of NTIC’s reported net income (loss) attributable to NTIC and reported net income (loss) attributable to NTIC per diluted common share to adjusted net income (loss) attributable to NTIC and adjusted net income (loss) attributable to NTIC per diluted common share, in each case, as adjusted to exclude the contribution from the receipt of an ERC payment and amortization expense. Investor and Media Contact: Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO NTIC (763) 225-6600

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, July 10, 2025 at 9 a.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Patrick Lynch Chief Financial Officer — Matthew Wolsfeld Patrick Lynch: Good morning. I'm Patrick Lynch, Northern Technologies International Corporation's CEO, and I'm here with Matthew Wolsfeld, Northern Technologies International Corporation's CFO. Please note that a press release regarding our third quarter fiscal 2025 financial results was issued earlier this morning and is available at ntic.com. During today's call, we will review various key aspects of our third quarter fiscal 2025 financial results, provide a brief business update, and then conclude with the question and answer session. Please note that when we discuss year-over-year performance, we are referring to the third quarter of our fiscal 2025 in comparison to the third quarter of last fiscal year. For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, we delivered both sequential and year-over-year growth in consolidated net sales, reflecting strength across many aspects of our business despite ongoing global economic uncertainty. This performance underscores the dedication of our team and our continued focus on supporting existing customers, expanding global relationships, and scaling in high-growth end markets. Gross margin was a particular highlight in the quarter, reaching 38.4%, an increase on both a sequential and year-over-year basis, which reflects the differentiated value we provide our global customer base. At the same time, macroeconomic pressures, especially in Europe, continue to weigh on the profitability of many of our joint ventures. Additionally, as part of our long-term growth strategy, we continue to make planned investments in our oil and gas business, which contributed to higher operating expenses. While macroeconomic pressures and higher operating expenses have impacted third quarter and year-to-date profitability, we expect improvements in the fourth quarter and continued progress in fiscal 2026. So with this overview, let's examine the drivers for the third quarter in more detail. For the third quarter ended 05/31/2025, our total consolidated net sales increased 4% to $21,500,000 as compared to the third quarter ended May 2024. Broken down by business unit, this included a 7.1% increase in Xero's Industrial's net sales, partially offset by a 5.3% decrease in ZERUST Oil and Gas net sales and a 1.2% decrease in Natur Tec net sales. Turning to our joint venture sales, which we do not consolidate in our financial statements, total net sales for the fiscal 2025 third quarter by our joint ventures decreased year-over-year by 12.9% to $2,300,000. We believe the third quarter year-over-year decline in joint venture sales reflects the continued impact of high energy prices and regional economic pressures in the European economy, as well as increased uncertainty related to US trade and economic policies and the potential impacts this will have on global supply chains. We are closely monitoring trends across our European markets for signs of stabilization. Following years of subdued demand, as governments begin to implement targeted economic stimulus packages, we expect any economic recovery these stimulus packages may lead to, especially in Germany, to have a positive impact on our joint venture operating income in future periods. Improving sales trends at our wholly owned NTSC China subsidiary continue. Fiscal 2025 third quarter net sales at NTSC China increased by 27.4% to $4,500,000, the second highest quarterly revenue NTSC has achieved since we transitioned to a wholly owned subsidiary in fiscal 2015. Recent NTIC China sales demonstrate growing demand in this geography. The majority of current NTIC China sales are for domestic Chinese consumption, and therefore, we believe NTSC China's exposure to US tariffs is limited. We expect demand in China will continue to improve in fiscal 2025, helping to support higher incremental sales and profitability in this market. In addition, we are committed to the long-term opportunities the Chinese market provides our industrial and bioplastic segments, and we continue to take steps to enhance our operations in this geography. As a result, we continue to believe China will likely become a significant geographic market for us in the future. Now moving on to Zero's Oil and Gas. Zero Soil and Gas sales were $1,300,000 compared to $1,400,000 the same period last year. Seasonality and the timing of orders can impact quarterly comparisons, which is why we encourage investors to look at ZERUST Oil and Gas sales on a trailing twelve-month basis. ZERUST Oil and Gas sales were $8,600,000 for the trailing twelve-month period ended 05/31/2025, a 15.4% increase from $7,400,000 for the trailing twelve-month period ended 05/31/2024. As we continue to invest in building our Zero Waste Oil and Gas sales team and other resources to support future growth, the size and number of opportunities continue to expand among both new and existing customers, which today still focus primarily on protecting above-ground oil storage tanks and pipeline casings from corrosion. The nature of this industry will always cause certain fluctuations in the ZERUST Oil and Gas sales. Nevertheless, we still expect to see ZERUST Oil and Gas sales and profitability improve sequentially in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 and improve significantly next fiscal year as we leverage these investments and rein in operating expense growth. Turning to our Natur Tec bioplastics business, Natur Tec sales were $5,800,000, representing a 1.2% year-over-year decline in Natur Tec sales. As expected, Natur Tec sales rebounded sequentially and increased 16.5% over the fiscal 2025 second quarter. While we continue to monitor the near-term impact tariffs may have on our Natur Tec sales, the long-term market opportunities remain strong. In addition, US organic diversion mandates and waste management rules are created at the local municipality and state levels. We do not expect changes in US federal priorities to impact local US demand for our compostable solutions. We are also working on several larger opportunities for our Natur Tec solutions that we believe hold significant promise to significantly benefit our sales in the coming quarters. While fiscal 2025 has been more challenging than we expected at the beginning of the fiscal year, we remain steadfast on pursuing a profit-focused multiyear strategic growth plan. We are confident in the direction we are headed. Before I turn the call over to Matt, I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our global team of both employees and joint venture partners. Our success and our ability to navigate more complex economic periods are a direct result of their efforts. With this overview, let me now turn the call over to Matt Wolsfeld to summarize our financial results for the fiscal 2025 third quarter. Matt Wolsfeld: Thanks, Patrick. Compared to the prior fiscal year period, NTIC's consolidated net sales increased 4% in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 to $21,500,000 because of the trends Patrick reviewed in his prepared remarks. Sales across our global joint ventures decreased 9.3% in the third quarter. Joint venture operating income decreased 12.9% compared to the prior fiscal year period, primarily due to a decrease in equity income from joint ventures, which was primarily driven by lower sales at most of NTIC's joint ventures. Total operating expenses for fiscal 2025 third quarter increased 7.6% compared to the prior fiscal year period, to $9,700,000, primarily due to increased personnel costs and strategic investments we are making to support expected growth in the second half of the year within our oil and gas business. As a percentage of net sales, operating expenses were 44.9% for the third quarter compared to 43.4% for the prior fiscal year period. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 38.4% during the three months ended 05/31/2025 compared to 38.2% during the prior fiscal year period. The 20 basis point increase was primarily a result of a more profitable mix of sales and our ongoing efforts to improve gross margin. NTIC reported net income of $122,000 or 1¢ per diluted share for the fiscal 2025 third quarter compared to $977,000 or $0.10 per diluted share for the fiscal 2024 third quarter. For the fiscal 2025 third quarter, NTIC's non-GAAP adjusted net income was $228,000 or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to the non-GAAP adjusted income of $1,100,000 or $0.11 per diluted share for the fiscal 2024 third quarter. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is available in our third quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings press release that was issued this morning. As of 05/31/2025, working capital is $21,700,000, including $6,800,000 in cash and cash equivalents compared to $23,700,000 including $5,000,000 in cash and cash equivalents as of 08/31/2024. As of 05/31/2025, we had outstanding debt of $10,100,000. This included $7,400,000 in borrowings under our existing revolving line of credit, compared to $4,300,000 as of 08/31/2024. Despite the recent increase in our revolving line of credit from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 to allow for future flexibility, reducing debt through positive operating cash flow and improving working capital efficiencies will be a strategic focus for the remainder of fiscal 2025 and into fiscal 2026. We generated $3,800,000 in operating cash flow for the nine months ended 05/31/2025. At quarter end, the company had $27,100,000 of investments in joint ventures, of which 49.7% or $13,500,000 was in cash, with the remaining balance primarily invested in other working capital. During the fiscal 2025 third quarter, NTIC's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.01 per common share that was payable on 05/14/2025 to stockholders of record on 04/30/2025. Recall, we temporarily adjusted our quarterly dividend to 1¢ per share as a part of our disciplined approach to managing our cash and navigating through this dynamic global environment. To conclude our prepared remarks, we remain committed to our long-term growth opportunities. We are confident that our strategic priorities and financial discipline will drive sustainable growth, improving profitability, and value for our shareholders. With this overview, Patrick and I are happy to take your questions. Operator: To withdraw your question, please press 11 again. Please. And one moment for our first question. Our first question will be coming from Timothy Clarkson of Van Clemens. Your line is open, Timothy. Timothy Clarkson: Hey, guys. Improved quarter. You know, it's sometimes hard to tell when you're focused just on net earnings. So I was looking at Matt Wolsfeld: You know, the pretax or operational Timothy Clarkson: Profits from the previous quarter versus this, and, you know, there's a significant improvement from the second quarter, obviously. Matt Wolsfeld: Yes. No. It certainly was better, and I certainly think we're trending now and headed in the right direction. I mean, looking across kind of all the different business units, Timothy Clarkson: Good. Hey. So, you know, just on a big picture basis, when you look at this Matt Wolsfeld: Just about every business unit took a step forward going from Q2 to Q3. Timothy Clarkson: Oil and gas thing, you know, when you're trying to get one of these guys to switch from the older technologies to your newer technology, now on the front end, is your technology cheaper on the front end? Patrick Lynch: Compared to traditional methods, yes. Matt Wolsfeld: Yep. Yep. Timothy Clarkson: You know, the electrolysis stuff. Patrick Lynch: I'm sorry. I didn't understand what you were saying. Yeah. So, I mean, if it you know, let's say that you're a customer and you're looking Timothy Clarkson: To switch, you know, from the older technology, which uses the, you know, the electricity deal. Okay. And yeah. Yeah. Or and you're gonna switch to this new technology. I mean, on just on the front end, is it cheaper or more expensive or about the same on the front end when you're trying to treat the tank? Patrick Lynch: It's much easier installation than the it's it's much easier installation. And, basically, you're spending a lot less money, and it's getting the protection, and you're getting and ours works better for a longer period of time. Timothy Clarkson: Oh, sure. I mean, there's no question about the long term, but you're dealing with humans who have a tendency to be kind of insect-like. And then, you know, if the benefits are in ten years for all these people, you know, that's just an eternity. But at least if on the front end, it's easier you save money, you know, that's a benefit immediately that they can justify the switch. And then, of course, you know, the longer-term benefits are way more significant, but that's important. Now what's the in general, on a quarter-to-quarter basis, what's the additional spending that you're doing on sales this year versus last year? What's the additional amount of money you guys are spending per quarter on the sales effort for the oil and gas? Patrick Lynch: You're talking primarily about personnel, really, in terms of that. Gas in various Yeah. Regions around the world. That have experience in the oil and gas industry and in the kinds of areas that we like. And that should basically make a cluster conversion happen faster. Timothy Clarkson: Right. But what would be the total incremental cost of that we're paying up front, the investments we're making right now? Per quarter versus what we're doing, you know, a year ago before we started making this big rollout with the sales expense. Matt Wolsfeld: Well, Timothy, if you look at it if you look back to, like, our fiscal 2023, fiscal 2024 from an oil and gas standpoint, Yeah. In North America, we averaged about $4,000,000. In the current year, we're projected to spend about $5.3 million. So we've got about $1,300,000 of additional investment in personnel that we've done over the past twelve plus months. Timothy Clarkson: So but that $1,300,000, that's over a twelve-month period, not over a quarterly period? Correct. Right. So it'd be $3,400,000 maybe per quarter is the additional expenses on the oil and gas. Patrick Lynch: Yeah. Timothy Clarkson: Right. Right. And then, of course, the other issue is there's a you know, it's a business that's clumpy so that you, you know, you'll see a lot of the results on one quarter versus another quarter. Matt Wolsfeld: Yeah. And I think I think you'll certainly see a step up in revenue kind of going from Q3 to Q4 as well from an oil and gas standpoint given kind of where we are in the quarter so far. And expectations of backlogs and things like that. Certainly would expect Q4 to be stronger than Q3 from an oil and gas standpoint. Timothy Clarkson: Right. Now switching to China, that was a strong quarter for those guys. I mean, is China now profitable? Patrick Lynch: China is profitable. China has been Matt Wolsfeld: Profitable for some time. What's nice is that we're seeing, you know, China as a standalone. You know, if I look back over the past, you know, three years, it certainly is a nice trend line from a revenue standpoint. I mean, if I look back to kind of the lows that we saw kind of coming out of COVID in our fiscal 2023, you know, first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, where we're at, like, you know, $2.6 million to $2.8 million in revenue per quarter, you know, now putting forth a quarter of $4,200,000, you know, shows significant growth in that region. So it is profitable. It is contributing. And it looks like what the Chinese are doing from a, you know, stimulating their economy standpoint, that we are, you know, kind of also increasing our revenues accordingly. Yes. Remember that Right. Primarily domestic consumption in China, not for export. Timothy Clarkson: Right. Right. Now the electric cars, I mean, do they still need some of the technology you have to prevent rust and corrosion? Yes. Just less of it than the traditional Patrick Lynch: Combustion engine. Timothy Clarkson: Yeah. Last, but they're making a hell of a lot of electric cars. So Well, on a on a basis, yeah, there's less Patrick Lynch: If they're making a hell of a lot of cars, you're gonna use a lot more material, obviously. Matt Wolsfeld: Yeah. Patrick Lynch: Yep. Okay. Well, good. I'm good. I'm oh, one last question on the compostable Timothy Clarkson: Stuff. Is it what's new there? Is it is business pretty much as usual, or are there any exciting new areas you're seeing on the compostable side? Patrick Lynch: Well, there's one project we're working on. It's a little too early to talk about revenues. But, I mean, historically, one of these problems you had with the compostable packaging is the water vapor transmission rate is pretty high. I mean, pretty permeable, so there's limits to what you can actually package in it on a convenient basis. Now say that we, at least in the laboratory, have managed to fix that problem. There is a possibility of scaling that up and finding significant applications in food packaging with that way. We're right now looking to do some soon start some scale-up production of that in that area. And we probably will see revenues if it all works out in the next two years or so. Timothy Clarkson: Great. Okay. Thanks. I'm done. Thank you. Operator: And one moment for our next question. Our next question will be coming from Gus Richard of Northland Capital Markets. Your line is open. Gus Richard: Hey. Good morning. I had a couple of questions. I just want to walk through the strength in the gross margin. When I look at it on a sequential basis, mix really doesn't imply gross margin should be up as much year on year. Patrick Lynch: It's right in the right ballpark. And I'm just wondering, was this Q2 a weak Matt Wolsfeld: Gross margin quarter? Or what were the drivers sequentially in the improvement? Patrick Lynch: Yeah. I think I think you certainly saw Matt Wolsfeld: Q2 as being a weak quarter. I think you also see kind of the continued, you know, kind of continued improvement that we're making in trying to, you know, be as efficient and effective as we can with the products that we're selling. So, you know, it's kind of a combination of it's it's kind of a combination of both, Gus. Got it. And then you were looks like you're hiring heavily for oil and gas, I just wondering Patrick Lynch: You know, are this to harvest new customers? Is it to service new regions? Matt Wolsfeld: You could explain sort of where you're going there, that'd be helpful. Patrick Lynch: It's a combination of things. We're looking to cover broader geographies and also go after new applications. Matt Wolsfeld: Geographies and applications? Yes. I mean, we're now building up our Patrick Lynch: Presence in The Middle East specifically, but we're also getting, I mean, new opportunities in South America and in Africa. Matt Wolsfeld: Got it. And then the last one for me, Patrick Lynch: You know, you talked about Nature Tech, some large opportunities, and I was just wondering if you could kind of Matt Wolsfeld: Give us a sense on, you know, Gus Richard: Relative size and timing of those opportunities. Patrick Lynch: I was just mentioning with Tim a second ago. The project that we're working on right now is trying to find applications in compostable plastics. In food in food packaging. And what historically has been the problem is that we compostable plastics are too permeable so it can't contain gases and liquids. You know? And still be compostable. We think we've found a way of solving that problem. And now we're trying to figure out, can you seal it up? And if so, what food applications can you be going after? But we have some significant interest in that area, so we're we're we're we're we're very confident that we should be able to develop something interesting over the next year or two. Gus Richard: Got it. Matt Wolsfeld: Got it. Helpful. Thank you very much. Operator: And I would now like to turn the conference back to Patrick for closing remarks. Patrick Lynch: Thank you very much for calling today. Hope you have a nice week. Operator: And this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Northern Technologies International, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Northern Technologies International wasn’t one of them. 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