USA – American multinational packaging company Ball Corporation registered net sales of US$3.48 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2023, compared to US$3.71 billion in Q1 FY22.
The company’s Beverage Packaging business in North and Central America contributed US$1.5 billion to the overall sales, its comparable operating earnings for the Q1 FY23 were US$183 million.
During the same period in FY22, Ball’s beverage packaging business in the same region reported sales of US$1.6 billion, with comparable operating earnings of US$174 million.
The company said this downward trajectory in terms of sales reported in this quarter, which ended on 31 March 2023, can be attributed to ‘lower shipments’ and a ‘contractual pass-through’ of lower aluminium costs.
Ball’s beverage packaging segment in the Middle East and Africa recorded sales of US$834 million this quarter, with segment-comparable operating earnings of US$73 million.
This is due to the lower year-on-year shipments impacted by the sale of Russian operations during Q3 of FY22 as well as the unfavorable foreign exchange changes.
The sustainable aluminium packaging solutions provider claimed that its first quarter results were hugely impacted by the divestment of its beverage packaging business in Russia in September last year.
Ball CEO and chair Daniel W Fisher said: “We delivered strong Q1 results amid tough year-over-year comparisons driven largely by 2022 business divestments.”
Meanwhile, the same segment in the South American region amounted to sales of US$450 million, with comparable operating earnings of US$50 million.
Ball executive vice-president and CFO Scott C Morrison added: “Following our typical seasonal working capital build, we ended the first quarter with cash and available liquidity in excess of US$1.5 billion.
“Leveraging our second half 2022 cost-out actions, contractual inflationary cost recovery and reduced capital expenditures, we remain well-positioned in 2023 to deliver our long-term diluted earnings per share goal and free cash flow in the range of US$750 million in addition to returning value to shareholders.”
In October last year, Ball Corporation added two new sizes of its infinitely recyclable Ball Aluminum Cup to offer consumers a full portfolio of sustainable cup options.
The firm has added 9-ounce and 12-ounce aluminum cup sizes to its existing 16-ounce, 20-ounce and 24-ounce cup offerings to meet the growing demands for sustainable cup options.
The Ball Aluminum Cup, which is offered to food service clients, now has a 90% recycled content rate, making it the beverage container in its category with the highest recycled content percentage, the packaging firm claimed.
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