Tighter expense controls and the sale of non-core assets enabled Material Sciences Corp. to report a tidy profit and improved sales for its fiscal first quarter.

The Elk Grove Village-based company said Friday it earned $4 million, or 31 cents a share, in the quarter ended May 31, compared with a year-ago net loss of $4.1 million, or 30 cents a share. Sales rose 33.4 percent to $42.5 million.

The company also attributed the improvement to improved global demand for its products and the introduction of new products.