COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Core Molding Technologies, Inc. (NYSE American: CMT) (“Core Molding”, “Core” or the “Company”), a leading engineered materials company specializing in molded structural products, principally in building products, industrial and utilities, medium and heavy-duty truck and powersports industries across the United States, Canada and Mexico, today reported financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2026.

Eric Palomaki, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The first quarter delivered $17 million in new business wins, gross margin expansion to 20.4%, and continued progress on our strategic Mexico investments. As expected, total sales declined modestly in the first quarter, but our top-line performance does not capture the momentum building across our portfolio. The heavy- and medium-duty truck market remains in a down cycle, and we expect this to persist through the first half of 2026. We delivered a strong sales performance across Powersports-both water and land-along with meaningful contributions from new product categories. The first-quarter gross margin demonstrates our continued pursuit of margin expansion through diversification across Core’s operating model.

“Our Invest for Growth initiatives, and this year’s Must Win Battle focused on Mexico, are translating into tangible results. That progress reflects the disciplined operating model and execution capabilities we have built over the past several years and reinforces our confidence in Core’s long-term growth trajectory. We are also seeing increases across truck orders, supported by pre-buy activity and new program launches tied to our 2024-and-beyond wins. As visibility for the second half improves, we will continue to update our full-year sales outlook in line with customer demand.”

Alex Panda, the Company’s EVP and Chief Financial Officer, commented, “As expected, first quarter sales declined primarily due to the ongoing truck down cycle, which was meaningfully offset by strong demand in the Powersports end market. The gross margin of 20.4% reflected continued operating discipline, prudent cost control, footprint optimization, and favorable program mix. Typical seasonality, mix shifts, and planned tooling revenues support our expectation for full-year gross margin in the range of 17% to 19%.

“Our outlook remains unchanged, and we continue to expect 2026 sales to be flat to up approximately 5% year-over-year. We believe SMC compound wins and demand across other end markets will help offset the truck down cycle during the first half of the year. Based on current visibility, we expect the truck cycle to begin recovering in the second half of 2026, with momentum continuing through 2027.”

First Quarter 2026 Highlights

- Total net sales of $58.6 million decreased 4.7% year-over-year, mainly from expected truck demand, which was mostly offset by meaningful increases in Power sports demand.

- Gross margin of $12.0 million, or 20.4% of net sales, up from 19.2%, or 120 basis point improvement over the year-ago quarter. Sequentially, gross margin improved 520 basis points from 15.2% in the prior year fourth quarter.

- Selling, general, and administrative expenses of $11.2 million, or 19.1% of net sales, compared to $8.9 million, or 14.6% for the prior year first quarter. Excluding succession plan costs of $0.9 million and Mexico expansion related expense of $2.1 million, selling, general and administrative expense totaled $8.2 million or 14.0% of net sales.

- Operating income of $0.8 million, or 1.3% of net sales, compared to operating income of $2.8 million, or 4.6% of net sales for the prior year first quarter.

- Net income of $0.6 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared to net income of $2.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted share for the prior year first quarter. Adjusted net income1 of $3.2 million, or $0.37 per diluted share.

- Adjusted EBITDA1 of $7.3 million, or 12.5% of net sales, compared to $7.2 million, or 11.7% for the prior year first quarter. Sequentially, Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales improved to 12.5% compared to 10.2% in the prior year fourth quarter.

- On March 11, 2026, the Board authorized an increase of 6,500,000 shares as part of the Company’s repurchase program.

- During the first quarter, 24,545 shares were repurchased at an average price of $18.62, totaling $457,000.

1Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures as defined and reconciled below.

2026 Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures totaled $3.8 million in the first quarter of 2026, including $3.2 million related to the Company’s Mexico expansion project. For the full year 2026, the Company expects capital spending of approximately $25 million to $30 million, including $18 million to $20 million allocated to the Mexico expansion. The Company generated a trailing twelve-month Return on Capital Employed1 of 6.8%, or 7.9% excluding cash.

Financial Position at March 31, 2026

The Company’s total liquidity at the end of the first fiscal quarter 2026 was $73.5 million, with $23.5 million in cash, $25.0 million of undrawn capacity under the Company’s revolving credit facility, and $25.0 million of undrawn capacity under the Company’s capex credit facility. The Company’s term debt was $19.3 million at March 31, 2026. The term debt-to-trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA1 was less than one times Adjusted EBITDA1 at the end of the fiscal first quarter.

1 Adjusted EBITDA, term debt-to-trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA and return on capital employed are non-GAAP financial measures as defined and reconciled below.

Conference Call

The Company will conduct a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. To access the call live by phone, dial (844) 881-0134 and ask for the Core Molding Technologies call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time. A telephonic replay will be available through May 14, 2026, by calling (855) 669-9658 and using passcode ID: 2850190. A webcast of the call will also be available live and for later replay on the Company’s Investor Relations website at www.coremt.com/investor-relations/events-presentations/.

About Core Molding Technologies, Inc.

Core Molding Technologies is a leading engineered materials company specializing in molded structural products, principally in building products, utilities, transportation and powersports industries across North America. The Company operates in one operating segment as a molder of thermoplastic and thermoset structural products. The Company’s operating segment consists of one reporting unit, Core Molding Technologies. The Company offers customers a wide range of manufacturing processes to fit various program volume and investment requirements. These thermoset processes include compression molding of sheet molding compound (“SMC”), resin transfer molding (“RTM”), liquid molding of dicyclopentadiene (“DCPD”), spray-up and hand-lay-up. The thermoplastic processes include direct long-fiber thermoplastics (“DLFT”) and structural foam and structural web injection molding. Core Molding Technologies serves a wide variety of markets, including the medium and heavy-duty truck, marine, automotive, agriculture, construction, and other commercial products. The demand for Core Molding Technologies’ products is affected by economic conditions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Core Molding Technologies’ operations may change proportionately more than revenues from operations.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements often include words such as “believe”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “expect”, “intend”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “project”, “continue”, “likely”, and similar expressions. In particular, this press release may contain forward-looking statements about the Company’s expectations for future periods with respect to its plans to improve financial results, the future of the Company’s end markets. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those reflected in forward-looking statements relating to our operations and business include: dependence on certain major customers, and potential loss of any major customer due to completion of existing production programs or otherwise; business conditions in the plastics, transportation, power sports, utilities and commercial product industries (including changes in demand for production); the availability and price increases of raw materials; general macroeconomic, social, regulatory and political conditions, including uncertainties surrounding volatility in financial markets; the imposition of new or increased tariffs and the resulting consequences; safety and security conditions in Mexico; costs and other resources related to Core Molding Technologies’ efforts to expand its customer base and grow its business, and provide on-time delivery to customers; the Company’s decision to pursue new products and initiatives to quote and execute manufacturing processes for new business, acquire raw materials, address inflationary pressures, regulatory matters and labor relations; the ability to successfully identify, evaluate and manage potential acquisitions and to benefit from and properly integrate any completed acquisitions; the Company’s financial position or other financial information; inadequate insurance coverage to protect against potential hazards; equipment and machinery failure; product liability and warranty claims; cybersecurity incidents or other similar disruptions; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s filings with the SEC.