As a company, we delivered $235 million in revenue in the second quarter, growing revenues both year-over-year and sequentially and we achieved near record levels of profitability.
Gross margins of 43% and operating margins of 21%, our second highest quarterly margin performance.
We achieved GAAP earnings per share of $0.97 for adjusted earnings per share of $1.1 [Phonetic] and our best free cash flow quarter in the company's history, generating over $50 million in free cash flow in the second quarter.
This ranges from our proprietary 3D-woven composites currently used on LEAP engine, fan blades and fan cases, to automated fiber placement composite wing skins for Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to complex components on the Sikorsky CH-53K helicopter.
Not surprisingly, publication grades continue their decline and only represented 16% of MC revenues in the second quarter.
For the second quarter, total company net sales were $234.5 million, an increase of 3.8% compared to $226 million delivered in the same quarter last year.
Adjusting for currency translation effects, net sales rose by 1% year-over-year in the quarter.
In Machine Clothing, also adjusting for currency translation effects, net sales were up 0.8% year-over-year, driven by increases in packaging grades and engineered fabrics, partially offset by declines in all other grades.
Publication revenue declined by over 7% in the quarter and as Bill mentioned, represented only 16% of MC's revenue this quarter.
Engineered Composites net sales, again after adjusting for currency translation effects, grew by 1.3%, primarily driven by growth on LEAP and CH-53K, partially offset by a decline on the 787 platform.
During the quarter, the ASC LEAP program generated little over $25 million in revenue.
Comparable to the first quarter of this year, but up over $10 million from the second quarter of last year.
At the same time, we reduced our inventory of LEAP-1B finished goods by over 20 engine shipsets in the quarter, leaving us with about 170 LEAP-1B engine shipsets on the balance sheet at the end of the second quarter.
Also during the most recent quarter, we generated about $3 million in revenue on the 787 program, up from less than $1 million in the first quarter, but down from almost $14 million in the second quarter of last year.
Second quarter gross profit for the company was $101.7 million, a reduction of 1% from the comparable period last year.
The overall gross margin decreased by 220 basis points from 45.6% to 43.4% of net sales.
Within the MC segment, gross margin declined from 54.5% to 52.9% of net sales principally due to foreign currency effects, higher input costs and higher fixed costs, partially offset by improved absorption.
For the AEC segment, the gross margin declined from 26.7% to 23% of net sales, driven primarily by a smaller impact from changes in the estimated profitability of long-term contracts.
During this quarter, we recognize the net favorable change in the estimated profitability of long-term contracts of just over $4 million.
But this compares to a net favorable change of over $7 million in the same quarter last year.
Second quarter selling, technical, general and research expenses increased from $47.4 million in the prior year quarter to $51.8 million in the current quarter and also increased as a percentage of net sales from 21% to 22.1%.
Total operating income for the company was $50 million, down from $52.7 million in the prior year quarter.
Machine Clothing operating income fell by $600,000, caused by higher STG [Phonetic] in our expense, partially offset by higher gross profit and lower restructuring expense.
And AEC operating income fell by $1.1 million, caused by lower gross profit and higher STG in our expense, partially offset by lower restructuring expense.
The income tax rate for this quarter was 30%, compared to 32.1% in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to the company for the quarter was $31.4 million, reduction of $1 million from $32.4 million last year.
Earnings per share was $0.97 in this quarter compared to $1 last year.
After adjusting for the impact of foreign currency revaluation gains and losses, restructuring expenses and expenses associated with the CirComp acquisition and integration, adjusted earnings per share was $1.01 this quarter, compared to $1.09 last year.
Adjusted EBITDA declined by 5.8% to $69.4 million for the most recent quarter compared to the same period last year.
Machine Clothing adjusted EBITDA was $63 million, essentially flat compared to the prior year quarter and represented 39.4% of net sales.
AEC adjusted EBITDA was $19.3 million or 25.9% of net sales, down from last year's $22.8 million or 31.4% of net sales.
Total debt, which consists of amounts reported on our balance sheet as long-term debt or current maturities of long-term debt declined from $384 million at the end of Q1 2021 to $350 million at the end of Q2 and cash increased by just over $15 million during the quarter, resulting in the reduction in net debt of about $50 million.
Capital expenditures in the quarter were approximately $11 million compared to $9 million in the same quarter last year.
Compared to the same period last year, MC orders were up 10% in the second quarter and up over 3% year-to-date.
Overall, we are raising our previously issued guidance of revenue for the segment to between $585 million and $600 million, up from the prior range of $570 million $590 million.
From a margin perspective in Machine Clothing, we delivered another strong quarter with adjusted EBITDA margins of almost 40%.
We saw some increase in the level of travel during the quarter, but we are still not back to a normal level of travel and the segment's travel expense in the quarter was still almost $2 million, below the level in the same quarter in 2019.
So, we may see some additional pressure from that in the balance of the year as we continue with the return to normal.
As a result of all of these factors and the increase in revenue guidance, we are increasing our adjusted EBITDA guidance for the MC segment to a range of $210 million to $220 million, up from the prior range of $195 million to $205 million.
For the full year, we still expect 787 program revenue to be down over $40 million from the roughly $50 million generated on that program last year.
With Boeing's recent announcement of a reduction in 787 build rate, all but eliminating the possibility for any upside on that program later in the year.
However, on a more positive note, while F-35 revenue was down slightly in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, recent order volume has given us confidence that we will not see the full-year decline in F-35 revenue that we had previously expected.
Overall, due to the increased confidence in F-35 revenue, the adjustments to long-term contract profitability this quarter and improvements in several other areas, we are raising our guidance for segment revenues to be between $290 million and $310 million, up from the previous range of $275 million to $295 million.
From a profitability perspective driven by the same factors, we are raising our AEC adjusted EBITDA guidance to be between $65 million and $75 million, up from the prior range of $55 million to $65 million.
We are also updating our previously issued guidance ranges for company-level performance including revenue of between $880 million and $910 million, increased from prior guidance of $850 million to $890 million; effective income tax rate of 28% to 30%, unchanged from prior guidance; depreciation and amortization of approximately $75 million, the top end of prior guidance; capital expenditures in the range of $40 million to $50 million, down from prior guidance of $50 million to $60 million; GAAP earnings per share of between $2.84 and $3.14 increased from prior guidance of $2.38 to $2.78; adjusted earnings per share of between $2.90 and $3.20, increased from prior guidance of $2.40 to $2.80; and adjusted EBITDA of between $225 million and $240 million, increased from prior guidance of $195 million to $220 million.

Summary:
As a company, we delivered $235 million in revenue in the second quarter, growing revenues both year-over-year and sequentially and we achieved near record levels of profitability.
We achieved GAAP earnings per share of $0.97 for adjusted earnings per share of $1.1 [Phonetic] and our best free cash flow quarter in the company's history, generating over $50 million in free cash flow in the second quarter.
Earnings per share was $0.97 in this quarter compared to $1 last year.
After adjusting for the impact of foreign currency revaluation gains and losses, restructuring expenses and expenses associated with the CirComp acquisition and integration, adjusted earnings per share was $1.01 this quarter, compared to $1.09 last year.
So, we may see some additional pressure from that in the balance of the year as we continue with the return to normal.
We are also updating our previously issued guidance ranges for company-level performance including revenue of between $880 million and $910 million, increased from prior guidance of $850 million to $890 million; effective income tax rate of 28% to 30%, unchanged from prior guidance; depreciation and amortization of approximately $75 million, the top end of prior guidance; capital expenditures in the range of $40 million to $50 million, down from prior guidance of $50 million to $60 million; GAAP earnings per share of between $2.84 and $3.14 increased from prior guidance of $2.38 to $2.78; adjusted earnings per share of between $2.90 and $3.20, increased from prior guidance of $2.40 to $2.80; and adjusted EBITDA of between $225 million and $240 million, increased from prior guidance of $195 million to $220 million.