This morning, we announced our financial results for our fiscal 2021 first quarter, which concluded on August 31, 2020. Thanks to your resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic and your persistence to continue implementing our MAP to Growth operating improvement program, we have successfully pulled through the depths of the global economic slowdown.
During our fiscal 2021 first quarter, select segments of the global economy began to gain momentum as stay-at-home orders were relaxed, which freed pent-up demand from last year’s fourth quarter. This helped drive our sales to a first-quarter record $1.61 billion, a 9.1% increase over the prior-year period. This was in sharp contrast to the Covid-19-related sales decline we reported for the fiscal 2020 fourth quarter.
We continued to benefit from the MAP to Growth operating improvement plan, which enabled us to leverage the first-quarter sales growth into even stronger bottom-line results. First-quarter adjusted consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased 39.8% to $269.2 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 51.6% to $1.44.
Our two largest segments, Construction Products Group and Consumer Group, posted positive growth in the first quarter, while the other two segments declined. Overall, our results were outstanding on all fronts – revenue growth, margin improvement and operating cash flow. This demonstrates a key benefit of our balanced business model – diversity across our segments, where strength in one offsets weakness in another.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2021, we expect to generate consolidated sales growth in the low- to mid-single digits with strong leverage to the bottom line for more than 20% adjusted EBIT growth, which are growth rates that are more in line with recent quarters prior to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Looking ahead to the full year of fiscal 2021, our guidance is relatively unchanged from the direction we provided in July. We anticipate that our Construction Products Group and Performance Coatings Group could experience sales declines for the next two quarters and then turn positive in the fourth quarter. Our Consumer Group should continue its strong sales momentum throughout the fiscal year. The Specialty Products Group is likely to face flat sales comparisons during the second quarter, which should turn positive in the second half of the year. These estimates assume that we do not experience a surge in Covid-19 that results in a second round of stay-at-home orders.
Tomorrow, we will host our annual meeting of shareholders, which will be held virtually. It can be accessed at www.VirtualShareholderMeeting.com/RPM2020 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and will also be available as a replay. I encourage you to listen to the presentation.
I would like to recognize our personnel at our Carboline plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, whose resiliency in the face of the aftermath of Hurricane Laura is inspiring to us all. A number of our employees lost their homes, our facilities received structural damage, and there were power and water outages. Despite the devastation, we were able to ship product to our customers within 11 days after the hurricane hit the area. Their response is symbolic of the entrepreneurial culture of RPM, where our employees act like owners of their respective businesses. Our Lake Charles employees demonstrate the RPM spirit by always thinking of “what’s possible,” even in the face of adversity.
Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication. Through the many challenges we have experienced over the past few months, you have demonstrated incredible resilience as you found new, innovative ways to safely operate the business, deliver for our customers and serve your communities. I wish you and your families good health.
Very truly yours,
Frank C. Sullivan
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
