For the quarter, we generated record adjusted earnings per share of $1.18 and segment EBIT of $140 million.
China was the only major economy to avoid a recession in 2020 and the market there was very strong for us in Q1 as PMI hit 57 and industrial production surged.
Given that almost 40% of the world's tires are produced in China and 50% of the world's silicones, our differentiated position there means we are extremely well-positioned for growth.
The segment delivered EBIT in the first fiscal quarter of $54 million, up 32% compared to the first fiscal quarter of 2020.
Customer adoptions and sales with the top 10 global battery producers continue to build momentum and we believe this business will grow to become a meaningful profit contributor for Cabot.
And our Platinum rating confirms that Cabot is ranked among the top 1% of companies in its peer group in the manufacturing of basic chemicals.
This is the second year that Cabot has received this recognition, which was developed in 2020 to highlight the most responsible companies in the United States across 14 industries.
The Reinforcement Materials segments delivered record operating results with EBIT of $88 million compared to the same quarter of fiscal 2020 driven by improved pricing and product mix in our calendar year 2020 tire customer agreement and with spot customers in the Asia region.
Globally volumes were up 1% in the first quarter as compared to the same period of the prior year primarily due to 13% growth in Europe and 9% higher volumes in the Americas as key end market demand continue to recover along with some level of inventory replenishments from the drawdowns earlier in the calendar year.
Asia volumes were down 8% year-over-year largely due to a schedule planned turnaround and our decision to balance pricing and volume in order to improve margin levels.
Now turning to Performance Chemicals, EBIT increased by $13 million as compared to the first fiscal quarter of 2020 primarily due to higher volumes and improved product mix in specialty carbons and compounds product lines.
Year-over-year volumes increased by 9% in both the Performance Additives and Formulated Solutions businesses driven by increases across all of our key product lines from higher demand levels and some level of customer inventory replenishment during the quarter.
Looking sequentially, we expect EBIT will moderate somewhat from the first quarter as raw material costs increase and specialty carbons and compounds product lines and we expect higher costs associated with the draw-down of inventory levels in the quarter.
We ended the quarter with a cash balance of $147 million, and our liquidity position remains strong at approximately $1.5 billion.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2021, cash flows from operating activities were $21 million, which included a working capital increase of $99 million.
The change in net working capital also included the final payment of $33 million related to the prior year respirator settlement.
Capital expenditures for the first quarter of fiscal 2021 were $29 million.
For the full year, we expect capital expenditures to be between $175 million and $200 million.
Additional uses of cash during the quarter included $20 million for dividend.
Our operating tax rate was 30% for the first quarter of fiscal 2021, and we continue to anticipate the fiscal year rate will be between 28% and 30%.
Based on the underlying business performance, we expect adjusted earnings per share in the second quarter to be in the range of $0.90 to a $1.
January volumes were strong and we anticipate the underlying demands in our key end markets will remain robust during the quarter driving year-over-year EBIT growth across all segments.

Summary:
For the quarter, we generated record adjusted earnings per share of $1.18 and segment EBIT of $140 million.
Looking sequentially, we expect EBIT will moderate somewhat from the first quarter as raw material costs increase and specialty carbons and compounds product lines and we expect higher costs associated with the draw-down of inventory levels in the quarter.
We ended the quarter with a cash balance of $147 million, and our liquidity position remains strong at approximately $1.5 billion.
Based on the underlying business performance, we expect adjusted earnings per share in the second quarter to be in the range of $0.90 to a $1.
January volumes were strong and we anticipate the underlying demands in our key end markets will remain robust during the quarter driving year-over-year EBIT growth across all segments.