The Company's 2021 Annual Report to Stockholders on Form 10-K contains management's discussion and analysis of the Company's financial condition and results of operations as of and for the year ended April 30, 2021. The following discussion and analysis describes material changes in the Company's financial condition since April 30, 2021. The analysis of results of operations compares the three and nine months ended January 31, 2022 with the comparable periods of the prior year.
Sales for the quarter were $40,633,000, an increase from sales of $33,339,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. Domestic sales for the quarter were $29,531,000, up 17.8% from sales of $25,066,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. Domestic sales were favorably impacted by $2,956,000 of raw material surcharges implemented during the most recent quarter. International sales for the quarter were $11,102,000, up 34.2% from sales of $8,273,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. International sales increased when compared to the prior year period due to strong demand in the most recent period coupled with billings being delayed from the prior quarter due to non-availability of site clearances.
Sales for the nine months ended January 31, 2022 were $119,157,000, a 9.6% increase from sales of $108,762,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. Domestic sales for the nine month period were $89,128,000, up 6.2% from sales of $83,896,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. Domestic sales were favorably impacted by $4,569,000 of raw materials surcharges implemented year to date. International sales for the period were $30,029,000, up 20.8% from sales of $24,866,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. International sales increased when compared to the prior year due to strong demand in the most recent period coupled with COVID-19 related restrictions and government mandated shutdowns in India that limited access to project sites that significantly impacted the first quarter of the prior year.
The Company's order backlog was $138.1 million at January 31, 2022, as compared to $103.0 million at January 31, 2021, and $114.5 million at April 30, 2021.
The gross profit margin for the three months ended January 31, 2022 was 13.8% of sales, as compared to 17.0% of sales in the comparable quarter of the prior year. The gross profit margin for the nine months ended January 31, 2022 was 12.5%, as compared to 16.5% of sales in the comparable period of the prior year. The decrease in gross profit margin percentage for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2022 is a result of supplier constraints resulting from COVID-19, as well as other supply chain disruptions, that led to increases in steel, wood, and epoxy resin raw material costs when compared to the prior year of approximately $424,000 and $4,186,000, respectively, in excess of surcharges implemented and recorded as sales. The gross profit margin percentage was also impacted by the cyber attack that occurred during the third quarter, which resulted in $1,131,000 of margin loss due to the disruption of production, loss of sales, and absorption of fixed overhead costs which were not covered by our cyber insurance policy.
Operating expenses for the three months ended January 31, 2022 were $6,490,000, or 16.0% of sales, as compared to $6,030,000, or 18.1% of sales, in the comparable period of the prior year. Operating expenses for the nine months ended January 31, 2022 were $19,742,000, or 16.6% of sales, as compared to $18,593,000, or 17.1% of sales, in the comparable period of the prior year. The increase in operating expenses for the three months ended January 31, 2022 was primarily for one-time costs in the amount of $325,000, related to the Company's previously announced decision to exit certain markets where the Company had historically sold products directly and professional services related to ongoing financing related activities. Operating expenses for the current period also included increases related to wages, benefits, and incentive and stock-based compensation of $25,000, $78,000 in consulting and professional fees, and $74,000 of international expenses, partially offset by a decrease of $100,000 in marketing expenses. The increase in operating expenses for the nine months ended January 31, 2022 was primarily for increases related to wages, benefits, and incentive and stock-based compensation of $888,000, increases in international expenses of $183,000, and one-time costs of $325,000, as described above, partially offset by decreases of $355,000 in marketing expenses and $71,000 in consulting and professional fees.
Interest expense, net was $158,000 and $396,000 for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to $105,000 and $310,000 for the comparable periods of the prior year. The changes in interest expense were primarily attributable to changes in borrowing levels.
The effective income tax rates for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2022 were (45.0)% and (17.5)% as compared to 113.2% and 59.3% for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2021. Income tax expense of $399,000 and an income tax benefit of $813,000 was recorded for the three months ended January 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Income tax expense of $845,000 and an income tax benefit of $989,000 was recorded for the nine months ended January 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The change in the effective tax rate for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2022 reflects the impact of international operations which are taxed at different rates, combined with no U.S. tax benefit being recorded for the most recent
quarter due to the Company's full valuation allowance position. See Note J , Income Taxes, of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
Non-controlling interests related to the Company's subsidiaries not 100% owned by the Company increased net loss by $33,000 and $89,000 for the three and nine months ended January 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to $14,000 and $19,000 for the comparable periods of the prior year. The change in the net earnings attributable to the non-controlling interest in the current period was due to changes in earnings of the subsidiaries in the related period.
Net loss was $1,319,000, or $(0.47) per diluted share, for the three months ended January 31, 2022, compared to net earnings of $81,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the prior year period. A net loss of $5,764,000, or $(2.07) per diluted share, was reported for the nine months ended January 31, 2022, compared to a net loss of $697,000, or $(0.25) per diluted share, in the prior year period.
Historically, the Company's principal sources of liquidity have been funds generated from operations, supplemented as needed by short-term borrowings under the Company's revolving credit facility. Additionally, certain machinery and equipment are financed by non-cancellable operating leases. The Company believes that these sources will be sufficient to support ongoing business requirements in the current fiscal year, including capital expenditures. As disclosed in the Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 22, 2021, the Company has signed an Agreement for Purchase and Sale of Real Property providing for the sale and leaseback of the Company's facilities in Statesville, North Carolina. Closing of that agreement is subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence by the purchaser; that due diligence is ongoing.
The Company had working capital of $21,412,000 at January 31, 2022, compared to $26,276,000 at April 30, 2021. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities was 1.5-to-1.0 at January 31, 2022, compared to 1.8-to-1.0 at April 30, 2021. The Company's short-term debt and working capital were significantly impacted by the $4,186,000 of increased raw material costs that the Company was not able to pass along to customers due to the fixed price nature of our contracts. At January 31, 2022, advances of $8.4 million were outstanding under the Company's credit facilities, compared to advances of $6.8 million outstanding as of April 30, 2021. The Company had standby letters of credit outstanding of $704,000 at January 31, 2022, unchanged from April 30, 2021. Amounts available under the $15.0 million revolving credit facility were $4.1 million and $7.5 million at January 31, 2022 and April 30, 2021, respectively. For additional information concerning our credit facility, see
Note F , Long-Term Debt and Other Credit Arrangements.
As previously reported in the Company's 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K , the Company was compliant at April 30, 2021 with all of the financial covenants under the revolving credit facility. At January 31, 2022, the Company was in compliance with all the financial covenants under its revolving credit facility. During the three months ended January 31, 2022, the supplemental liquidity threshold for the Company, as defined in the Credit Agreement, fell below $3,000,000 for one reporting period. The Company has obtained a waiver of the debt covenant violation that occurred on that date and returned to full compliance for the subsequent months during the period ended January 31, 2022.
The Company used cash of $1,087,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2022. Cash was used primarily for operations and increases in receivables of $2.2 million, inventory of $3.4 million and other, net of $3.5 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts payable and other accrued expenses of $10.7 million. During the nine months ended January 31, 2022, the Company used net cash of $1,222,000 in investing activities, all of which was used for capital expenditures. The Company's financing activities provided cash of $2,119,000 during the nine months ended January 31, 2022, primarily from net increases in short-term borrowings as a result of increased raw material costs, as discussed above.
The Company continues to actively monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact. Any future developments and effects will be highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including: the scope and duration of the pandemic; further adverse revenue and net income effects; disruptions to our operations; closure of project sites; ability of suppliers to support our operations; the effectiveness of our work from home arrangements; employee impacts from illness, school closures and other community response measures; and any actions taken by governmental authorities and other third parties in response to the pandemic. The uncertain future development of this crisis could materially and adversely affect our business, operations, operating results, financial condition, liquidity or capital levels. The Company will continue to work to ensure the safety of our people and our ability to serve our customers worldwide.
As discussed in our Form 10-Q for the period ended October 31, 2021, on November 5, 2021, the Company experienced a criminal network cyber attack that led to a disruption of its domestic operations, including manufacturing, engineering, administration, and sales operations. The temporary production disruption had a material impact on sales and earnings for the period ended January 31, 2022, however, the Company believes it will have an immaterial impact for the remainder of the fiscal year. While the Company has insurance coverage against recovery costs and business interruption resulting from cyber attacks, the Company has incurred expenses and losses related to this attack that have exhausted its existing cyber insurance coverage. The Company will seek to obtain insurance for losses related to any similar future events, but there can be no assurance that such insurance will be available to the Company.
In addition, the Company's ability to predict future demand for its products continues to be limited given its role as subcontractor or supplier to dealers for subcontractors. Demand for the Company's products is also dependent upon the number of laboratory construction projects planned and/or current progress in projects already under construction. The Company's earnings are also impacted by fluctuations in prevailing pricing for projects in the laboratory construction marketplace and increased costs of raw materials, including stainless steel, wood, and epoxy resin, and whether the Company is able to increase product prices to customers in amounts that correspond to such increases without materially and adversely affecting sales. Additionally, since prices are normally quoted on a firm basis in the industry, the Company bears the burden of possible increases in labor and material costs between the quotation of an order and delivery of a product.
Looking forward, the Company is optimistic about opportunities for growth within existing end-markets. As the economy continues to re-open, the Company anticipates that project awards will accelerate and the pace of construction will increase. The Company has been focused on restoring and expanding manufacturing capacity that had been previously reduced due to COVID-19. The Company has also been implementing surcharges on new orders with the goal of aligning revenue to offset the broad based price increases for materials including steel, aluminum, hard woods, and resin products that have impacted the Company's financial performance for the first nine months of the fiscal year. The Company expects improved financial performance through the remainder of this fiscal year and into fiscal year 2023.
Certain statements included and referenced in this report, including Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could significantly impact results or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices, as well as prices for certain raw materials and energy. The cautionary statements made by us pursuant to the Reform Act herein and elsewhere should not be construed as exhaustive. We cannot always predict what factors would cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. Many important factors that could cause such differences are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in Item 1A in the Company's 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. In addition, readers are urged to consider statements that include the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "plans," "objectives," "anticipates," "intends" or the like to be uncertain and forward-looking. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. The Company assumes no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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