You are given a text that consists of multiple sentences. Your task is to perform abstractive summarization on this text. Use your understanding of the content to express the main ideas and crucial details in a shorter, coherent, and natural sounding text. 
Text: I'm pleased to report that we started the year strong, delivering another solid quarter.
Both segments got off to a good start.
As a company, we achieved $222 million in revenues and excellent bottom line performance, with GAAP earnings per share of $0.85 or $0.87 per share on an adjusted basis.
Our cash flow generation was particularly good for first quarter.
And we continue to pay down debt and have a healthy balance sheet, which enables investment in future growth.
I'm particularly proud of how our employees continue to perform through the pandemic.
Even while following our COVID-19 protocols and safety procedures, our operating teams are driving process improvements with Lean Kaizen.
Our R&D teams are working on the next generation of materials and products, and we continue to do a great job for our customers in delivery, quality and service.
Our Machine Clothing segment had its strongest quarterly top line performance since 2015, with revenues up nearly $12 million year-over-year and good order activity in Q1, which bodes well for this year.
In fact, other than the secular decline in publication grades, Machine Clothing end market demand in packaging, tissue, pulp and engineered fabrics were all positive in Q1.
In addition to a solid backlog, our engineering teams are hard at work developing new technology belts for our customers, which is critical to our success and value proposition.
We have seen some instances of isolated supply constraints impacting raw material pricing and delivery timing in this segment, and we continue to actively manage our supply chain, securing the materials we need to support our customers' demand.
In summary, our Machine Clothing segment continues to perform well.
serving customers around the world as the recognized global leader supplying these critical consumable components to the paper industry.
This success is the result of a disciplined execution of our long-term strategy.
In Aerospace, as we reported last quarter, our Engineered Composites segment will be grinding through a year of destocking of excess inventory in the channels for LEAP, Boeing 787 and F-35 products.
That said, Engineered Composites is on track with their plan and ready for the upturn as commercial air transport improves, inventory in the channels is consumed and our production is back in sync with aircraft OEM production.
We're on good platforms that we expect will recover, and we continue to do this as a time to further improve our operations.
We're ready and looking forward to the upturn.
We're working closely with Safran to coordinate our operations as the LEAP engine production ramps up, supporting the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX.
With domestic air travel recovering first and fueling demand for narrow-body aircraft, A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX are in the sweet spot of the air transport recovery.
In Engineered Composites, looking beyond our current portfolio of programs, our opportunity pipeline is as full as it's ever been.
We're developing a breadth of capability to be the next-generation supplier of advanced composite materials.
This ranges from our proprietary 3D woven composites currently used on LEAP engine fan blades and hand 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.
We continue to develop applications for the Wing of Tomorrow program with Airbus Industries, and we're investing more this year in R&D projects with new customers and new platforms using advanced materials such as our 3D woven composites on a range of exciting applications, including unmanned hypersonic and electric aircraft.
The sum of these efforts furthers our goal to diversify and grow our customer base and broaden our material science capabilities.
As I mentioned, we have a strong balance sheet and good free cash flow generation.
These allow us to sustain our investment in the technology and customer programs that expand and broaden our competitive positioning in both segments.
Our first priority for capital allocation is to invest in organic growth programs across both business segments and then to seek acquisitions that fit our long-term strategy.
Our reputation for reliability, service and technical excellence is well established in the Machine Clothing segment, and our brand is growing in aerospace as a reliable supplier and engineered materials partner, and we're optimistic about the long-term opportunities in both segments.
I will first talk about the results for the quarter and then comment on the outlook for our business for the balance of the year.
For the first quarter, total company net sales were $222.4 million, a decrease of 5.7% compared to the $235.8 million delivered in the same quarter last year.
Adjusting for currency translation effects, net sales declined by 8.2% year-over-year in the quarter.
In Machine Clothing, also adjusting for currency translation effects, net sales were up 4.9% year-over-year, resulting in the highest Q1 revenue for the segment since 2015, as Bill had mentioned.
The increase was driven by growth in all major products -- all major grades of product other than publication grades.
The revenue from publication declined by 10% in the quarter and represented only 16% of MC's revenue this quarter.
Currency-neutral revenue in both packaging and tissue grades reflected a high single-digit growth rate in the quarter, driven by the high orders we had seen in the fourth quarter of last year.
Engineered Composites net sales, again, after adjusting for currency translation effects, declined by $26.2 million, primarily caused by significant reductions in LEAP and Boeing 787 program revenue, partially offset by growth on the F-35 and CH-53K platforms.
During the quarter, the ASC LEAP program generated a little under $27 million in revenue, a slight improvement over the roughly $24 million delivered in Q4 of 2020, but down significantly from roughly $39 million delivered in Q1 of last year.
First quarter gross profit for the company was $88.5 million, a reduction of 1% from the comparable period last year.
The overall gross margin increased by 190 basis points from 37.9% to 39.8% of net sales.
Within the MC segment, gross margin declined from 53.2% to 51.5% of net sales, principally due to higher fixed costs and lower absorption.
Within AEC, the gross margin declined from 17% to 16.4% of net sales, driven primarily by the impact of changes in the estimated profitability of long-term contracts.
Last year, during the first quarter, we recognized a net favorable change in the estimated profitability of long-term contracts of close to $1 million.
While this year, the net change in the estimated profitability of long-term contracts for the first quarter was insignificant.
First quarter selling, technical, general and research expenses declined from $49.2 million in the prior year quarter to $46.7 million in the current quarter and were roughly flat as a percentage of net sales at about 21%.
The reduction in the amount of expense reflects the absence of severance costs recognized in the prior year, the impact of additional accounts receivable reserves we recorded in Q1 of 2020 when the pandemic began and lower travel expenses, partially offset by lower foreign exchange gains.
As expected and consistent with our full year plans, R&D expenditures in both segments increased this quarter.
Total operating income for the company was $41.8 million, up from $39.6 million in the prior year quarter.
Machine Clothing operating income increased by $3.2 million driven by higher gross profit, partially offset by higher STG&R expense, and AEC operating income fell by $4.7 million, caused by lower gross profit.
Other income and expense in the quarter netted to an expense of $600,000 compared to an expense of $15.6 million in the same period last year.
Last year's results included a significant charge related to a foreign currency revaluation loss.
The income tax rate for this quarter was 26.7%, compared to the unusually high 62.1% rate we recorded last year.
The primary driver of the reduction in the tax rate was the nondeductibility of last year's foreign currency revaluation loss.
Apart from that, in this quarter, favorable income tax adjustments reduced income tax expense by $1.3 million compared to an increase of $5.1 million from similar adjustments in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to the company for the quarter was $27.6 million, an increase of $18.5 million from $9.1 million last year.
The increase was primarily driven by the absence this year of last year's foreign currency revaluation loss and by higher operating income.
Earnings per share was $0.85 in this quarter, compared to $0.28 last year.
After adjusting for the impact of foreign currency revaluation gains and losses, restructuring expenses, expenses associated with the CirComp acquisition and integration and severance costs in the prior year period, adjusted earnings per share was $0.87 this quarter compared to $0.78 last year.
Adjusted EBITDA grew 2.6% to $60.7 million for the most recent quarter compared to the same period last year.
Machine Clothing adjusted EBITDA was $54.9 million or 37.1% of net sales this year, up from $49.2 million or 36% of net sales in the prior year quarter.
AEC adjusted EBITDA was $16.7 million or 22.6% of net sales, down from last year's $22.1 million or 22.3% of net sales.
Turning to our debt position.
Total debt, which consists of amounts reported on our balance sheet as long-term debt or current maturities of long-term debt, declined from $398 million at the end of Q4 2020 to $384 million at the end of Q1 2021.
And cash declined by just over $3 million during the quarter, resulting in a reduction in net debt of over $10 million.
The first quarter is typically our lowest quarter for cash flow generation due to working capital seasonality and the incentive compensation payments made during the quarter.
This year, we performed better than we would typically expect and delivered free cash flow, defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures, of $21.1 million, compared to a use of over $19 million in the same quarter last year, driven primarily by improvements in AEC working capital.
We were pleased with the cash flow performance of the AEC segment this quarter, which swung from a significant use in the same quarter last year to significant cash generation this year.
Capital expenditures in Q1 of each year were approximately $13 million.
Our absolute net leverage ratio is now 0.65, providing us with a very strong balance sheet, allowing us to take advantage of organic and acquired growth opportunities.
As we look forward to the balance of 2021, the outlook for the Machine Clothing segment remained strong.
Compared to the same quarter last year, MC orders were down 2%.
However, as you may recall, near the end of Q1 in 2020, orders spiked from customers who are concerned about the availability of supply in light of the emerging pandemic.
Further, from a backlog perspective, we are in a stronger position entering Q1 in 2021 than we were in 2020.
So overall, we are feeling good about our previously issued guidance of revenue for the segment of between $570 million and $590 million.
From a margin perspective in Machine Clothing, we delivered another strong quarter, with adjusted EBITDA margins north of 37%.
I should note that some of the headwinds we projected this year, most notably a return to normal levels of travel and the absence of the foreign exchange benefits we enjoyed during the middle last year, have yet to impact our comparative results.
That said, we are pleased with our performance for the quarter.
While we are maintaining our adjusted EBITDA guidance for the segment of $195 million to $205 million, we are currently trending toward the upper portion of that range.
Turning to Engineered Composites.
We are seeing the expected impact of the 787 frames channel destocking in our top line results.
During the quarter, we generated less than $1 million of revenue from the 787 frames program compared to over $12 million in the same quarter last year.
I already noted that the ASC LEAP program was also down by about $12 million during the quarter.
These two programs account for almost all of the year-over-year decline in AEC revenue that we saw during the quarter.
As a result of these declines, the share of AEC revenue derived from defense programs grew to over 48% during the quarter.
That said, we will still see the previously disclosed revenue impact from F-35 channel destocking in the second and third quarters.
So I would expect the defense program share of AEC revenues to dip somewhat over the next couple of quarters.
This will also make the second and third quarters quite challenging for the segment overall.
The year is shaping up in line with expectations for the segment, and we are maintaining our guidance range of $275 million to $295 million for segment revenues.
From a profitability perspective, our performance to date is broadly in line with our expectations, and we are maintaining our AEC adjusted EBITDA guidance of $55 million to $65 million.
We are also maintaining all of our previously issued guidance ranges for company-level performance, with the exception of guidance for GAAP earnings per share, which has been updated to reflect non-GAAP adjustments recorded in Q1.
Current guidance is as follows: revenue of between $850 million and $890 million; effective income tax rate of 28% to 30%; depreciation amortization of between $70 million and $75 million; capital expenditures in the range of $50 million to $60 million, GAAP earnings per share of between $2.38 and $2.78, down slightly from prior guidance of $2.40 and $2.80; adjusted earnings per share of between $2.40 and $2.80; and adjusted EBITDA of between $195 million and $220 million.
Overall, we are very pleased with how the year is progressing and hope to see a continued progression to normalcy in the balance of the year.
Over to you, Greg.

user
compname reports q1 earnings per share of $0.85.
q1 sales fell 6 percent to $222.4 million.
q1 adjusted earnings per share $0.87.
q1 earnings per share $0.85.
reiterating our guidance for 2021.
updated 2021 gaap earnings per share guidance.
sees 2021 gaap earnings per share $2.38 - $2.78 and adjusted earnings per share of between $2.40 -$2.80.

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