At the Electronics segment, nearly half of the 35% year-on-year revenue increase in the third quarter reflected organic growth with solid demand for relays in solar and electric vehicle applications and reed switches for transportation end markets.
We continue to expect that revenue from COVID-related storage demand in fiscal 2021 will be at the higher end of our originally indicated $10 million to $20 million range.
At the Specialty Solutions segment, revenue and operating income sequentially increased 18.3% and 32.4%, respectively, as we see the early stages of recovery in our end markets.
Electronics segment backlog realizable in under one year increased approximately 26% sequentially as the demand in end markets, including electric vehicle and renewable energy, continues to trend positively.
For instance, at the Specialty Solutions segment, Hydraulics aftermarket revenue increased 23% year-on-year in the third quarter.
However, the consolidated revenue increase sequentially will be partially offset by the absence of Enginetics, which contributed approximately $4 million in revenue in the third quarter and was divested at the end of the quarter.
Revenue grew approximately $17 million or 35.4% year-on-year with nearly half of the increase due to organic growth.
The recent Renco acquisition contributed revenue of $6.4 million and is proving to be a highly complementary fit with our magnetics portfolio.
Operating income increased approximately $4.3 million or 54.2% year-on-year, reflecting operating leverage associated with revenue growth, profit contribution from Renco and productivity initiatives, partially offset by increased raw material costs.
In this case, we highlighted a magnetic motion system for a defense elevator application, which will contribute more than $11 million over the next three years.
Currently, our new business opportunity funnel has increased to $59 million across a broad range of markets and is expected to deliver $12.4 million of incremental sales in fiscal 2021.
Our outlook reflects a continued broad-based end market recovery, including further growth for relays in solar and electronic vehicle applications, supported by a healthy order flow with backlog realizable under a year increasing approximately $20 million or 26% sequentially in our third fiscal quarter.
Revenue increased approximately $600,000 or 1.7% year-on-year, and operating income was similar year-on-year, as expected, at $4.5 million.
Laneway sales of $13.6 million were an approximate 5% sequential increase, reflecting growth in soft trim tools, laser engraving and tool finishing.
The picture on slide five highlights a recent customer win on the Ford F-150 platform for soft trim interiors.
Revenue increased approximately $9.6 million or 65% year-on-year, reflecting continued positive trends in retail pharmacies, clinical laboratories and academic institutions, mainly attributable to demand for COVID-19 vaccine storage.
Operating income increased $2.6 million or approximately 81% year-on-year, due primarily to the volume increase balanced with investments to support future growth opportunities.
In fiscal fourth quarter 2021, we expect a moderate sequential decrease in revenue due to lower demand for COVID-19 vaccine storage combined with higher freight costs, which we expect to result in a sequential decrease in operating margin, although we still expect an operating margin above 20% in the quarter.
Revenue decreased approximately $6.7 million, and operating income was about $1.9 million lower year-on-year, a 25.4% and 59.8% decrease, respectively.
Specialty Solutions revenue decreased approximately $3.7 million or 11.9% year-on-year with an operating income decline of about $600,000 or 12.9%.
Sequentially, Specialty Solutions revenue and operating income increased 18.3% and 32.4%.
We reported a free cash flow of $12.4 million and have generated 92% free cash flow to net income conversion to the first nine months of fiscal 2021.
We expect our fiscal fourth quarter 2021 results will be stronger both sequentially and year-on-year.
On a consolidated basis, total revenue increased 10.8% year-on-year from $155.5 to $172.2 million.
Renco contributed approximately 4.1%, and FX contributed 2.8% increase to the revenue growth.
On a year-on-year basis, our adjusted operating margin increased 90 basis points to 12.2%, reflecting operating leverage associated with revenue growth, profit contribution from Renco and readout of our productivity actions, partially offset by increased raw material costs.
Interest expense decreased approximately 28% or $0.5 million year-on-year, primarily due to lower level of borrowings and a decrease in overall interest rate as a result of our previously implemented variable to fixed rate swaps.
In addition, our tax rate was 24.9% in the third quarter of 2021.
For fiscal 2021, we continue to expect approximately 22% tax rate with a rate in the low 20% range for the fourth quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share was $1.19 in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $0.96 a year ago.
We generated free cash flow of $12.4 million in the fiscal third quarter of '21 compared to free cash flow of $7.3 million a year ago, supported by improvements in our working capital metrics.
For the first nine months of fiscal 2021, we have generated 92% free cash flow to net income conversion, inclusive of approximately $8 million in pension payments, with $3 million of that amount paid in the fiscal third quarter of '21.
Standex had net debt of $82.1 million at the end of March compared to $90.9 million at the end of December, reflecting free cash flow of approximately $12.4 million, an additional $11.7 million in proceeds from the Enginetics divestiture.
This was partially offset by $8.6 million of stock repurchases, along with dividends and changes in foreign exchange.
Net debt for the third quarter of 2021 consisted primarily of long-term debt of $200 million and cash and equivalents of $180 million with approximately $82 million held by foreign subs.
Standex's net debt to adjusted EBITDA leverage was approximately 0.8 at the end of the third quarter with a net debt to total capital ratio of 14.5%.
We had approximately $209 million of available liquidity at the end of the third quarter and continued to repatriate cash with approximately $6 million repatriated during the quarter.
To date, we have repatriated approximately $31 million and remain on plan to repatriate at least $35 million in fiscal 2021.
From a capital allocation perspective, we repurchased approximately 94,000 shares for $8.6 million.
There is approximately $27 million remaining on our current repurchase authorization.
We also declared our 227th consecutive quarterly cash dividend on April 28 of $0.24 per share.
Finally, we have reduced our fiscal 2021 capital expenditures range to between $22 million to $25 million from between approximately $25 million to $28 million.
Underpinning this outlook is expected sequential revenue increases at Electronics, Engraving and Specialty Solutions, partially offset by the divestiture of Enginetics, which contributed approximately $4 million in revenue in the third quarter.

Summary:
We expect our fiscal fourth quarter 2021 results will be stronger both sequentially and year-on-year.
On a consolidated basis, total revenue increased 10.8% year-on-year from $155.5 to $172.2 million.
Adjusted earnings per share was $1.19 in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $0.96 a year ago.