Consolidated sales of almost $232 million improved 2.3% versus the prior year or 4.1% when adjusted for the divestiture of SMS last year.
metal coatings generated another excellent quarter with sales up 15.4% to over $133 million and infrastructure solutions sales down 11% at about $99 million.
We generated net income of over $21 million and earnings per share of $0.85 per diluted share, reflecting the resiliency of our businesses and the dedication of our people.
We also benefited from lower interest expense and a lower tax rate of 22% for the third quarter.
In line with our strategic commitment to value creation, we repurchased over 148,000 shares for $7.6 million and distributed $4.2 million in dividends.
In metal coatings we achieved 24.5% in operating margins on sales of $133 million.
This resulted in operating income being up over 14% from the previous year.
We were down about 8% when considering the impact of the SMS divestiture.
The infrastructure solutions segment delivered operating income of over $9 million, with operating margins improved 140 basis points to 9.3% as compared to the prior year.
We anticipate annual sales to be in the range of $865 million to $925 million and earnings per share at $3 to $3.20 per diluted share.
Bookings or incoming orders in the third quarter were $248 million, a $53.6 million or 28% increase over the third quarter of the prior year.
Our bookings-to-sale ratio remained consistent with last quarter, 107% and well above the book-to-sales ratio of 0.86 for the same quarter last year.
Third quarter fiscal 2022 sales were $231.7 million, $5.1 million or 2.3% higher than the prior-year third quarter sales of $226.6 million.
Year over year, for the third quarter, metal coatings segment sales were up $17.8 million and were partially offset by lower sales in the infrastructure solutions segment, mostly in the industrial segment where we took significant actions to restructure the business in the middle of last year.
The business generated gross profit of $57 million compared with gross profit of $54.7 million in the third quarter of the prior year.
Our gross margin was 24.6% for the third quarter compared with gross margin of 24.1% in the third quarter of last year as business in both the segments continue to improve.
Operating income for the quarter was $30.1 million compared with $27.9 million in the third quarter of the prior year, a $2.2 million or 8% improvement year over year.
Our earnings per share was $0.85 or $0.09 higher than last year's third quarter reported earnings per share of $0.76 and adjusted earnings per share of $0.80 in the prior-year third quarter.
The prior year was impacted by our loss on the divestiture of southern mechanical services or SMS. Third quarter EBITDA of $39.8 million was flat compared with EBITDA in the third quarter of the prior year.
Year-to-date sales through the third quarter of fiscal 2022 were $678 million, a 5.4% increase from last year's third quarter, year-to-date sales -- from last year's third quarter year-to-date sales of $643 million.
Excluding the impact of SMS divestitures, sales would have increased 8.6% year over year on a pro forma basis.
Fiscal 2022 year-to-date net income of $62.4 million was $38.9 million or 166% above the prior year-to-date reported net income of $23.5 million and $23.1 million or 58.9% above the adjusted net income from the prior year-to-date period, wherein the company had recorded impairment and restructuring charges net of tax of $15.8 million.
EPS on a year-to-date diluted share basis is $2.48 compared with $0.90 reported in the prior year and $1.50 on an adjusted basis.
Current year-to-date earnings per share improved $0.98 or 65.3% over the year-to-date 2021 results.
On a gross basis, outstanding debt at the end of the quarter was $192 million, consisting of $150 million on our 7- and 12-year senior notes and $42 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility.
This reflects a $13 million increase in borrowings from the end of the last fiscal year.
Year to date, we have deployed $19.1 million in capital investments and anticipate capital investments of roughly $32 million this year, slightly below our previous estimate of $35 million.
We repurchased 7.6 million in outstanding stock during the quarter and year-to-date have repurchased 712,000 shares or $28.9 million.
Through the nine months ended November 30, 2021, cash flows generated from operations was $49.7 million, down $9.7 million or 16.4% from the same period in the prior year.
We remain committed to our growth strategy around metal coatings and achieving 21% to 23% operating margins with galvanizing performance being quite steady, while we continue to improve Surface Technologies.

Summary:
We generated net income of over $21 million and earnings per share of $0.85 per diluted share, reflecting the resiliency of our businesses and the dedication of our people.
We anticipate annual sales to be in the range of $865 million to $925 million and earnings per share at $3 to $3.20 per diluted share.
Third quarter fiscal 2022 sales were $231.7 million, $5.1 million or 2.3% higher than the prior-year third quarter sales of $226.6 million.
Our earnings per share was $0.85 or $0.09 higher than last year's third quarter reported earnings per share of $0.76 and adjusted earnings per share of $0.80 in the prior-year third quarter.