USA – Berry Global, a plastic packaging manufacturer, reported net sales of US$3.16 billion in the third quarter (Q3) of financial year 2024 (FY24), a 2% decrease from the US$3.22 billion reported in Q3 FY23.
This decline was primarily due to the pass-through of lower resin prices, which negatively impacted sales by 3%.
Despite the decrease in net sales, Berry Global’s operating income rose by 13% to US$303 million, compared to US$267 million in the same quarter last year.
This growth was driven by organic volume growth and a positive price-cost spread from the company’s cost-reduction initiatives. Earnings per diluted share increased to US$1.65 from US$1.18 in Q3 FY23.
The Consumer Packaging International segment experienced a 7% decrease in net sales, totaling US$959 million, while the segment’s operating income increased by 16% to US$79 million.
In contrast, the North American Consumer Packaging segment saw a 4% increase in net sales to US$831 million, driven by organic volume growth and higher selling prices due to an improved product mix.
Operating income in this region also increased by 16% to US$103 million. Berry Global’s Flexibles packaging business witnessed a 2% decrease in net sales, amounting to US$724 million, primarily due to lower selling prices.
Berry Global CEO Kevin Kwilinski stated, “Our strong financial results in the quarter were consistent with our expectations and our teams executed very well.
“This quarter, I’d like to emphasize our team’s outstanding performance in achieving volume and earnings growth, as well as our progression in reducing our leverage and optimizing our portfolio.
“We expect business momentum to continue, delivering low-single-digit volume growth in the fiscal fourth quarter and exiting fiscal 2024 at or below our 3.5x leverage target.”
Ranpak reports 5.5% growth in Q2 FY24 net revenue
Meanwhile, Ranpak, a provider of eco-friendly packing materials and solutions, announced a 5.5% increase in net revenue for the second quarter (Q2) of FY24, reaching US$86.4 million compared to US$81.9 million in Q2 FY23.
The increase was driven by a rise in void-fill products, although partially offset by a decrease in cushioning and other net revenues.
Despite this revenue growth, Ranpak experienced a loss from operations of US$5.2 million in Q2 FY24, compared to an operating income of US$4.4 million in Q2 FY23.
However, the company’s net income for the quarter stood at US$5.5 million, improving from a net loss of US$2.1 million in the same period last year.
Gross profit slightly increased to US$31.7 million, up 5% from US$30.2 million in the prior year’s quarter.
Ranpak Chair and CEO Omar Asali commented, “We are pleased to build on our momentum to start the year and deliver a solid performance in the second quarter, which included growth in volumes, sales, adjusted EBITDA, and an increase in our cash position.
“We were pleased to execute on our strategic account activity plan in the second quarter and see the beginnings of large e-commerce players in North America making the plastic to paper shift while publicly citing the benefits of paper versus air pillows.”
Geographically, net revenue in North America for Q2 FY24 totaled US$37.7 million, up from US$32.2 million in the same period the previous year.
However, net revenue in Europe/Asia slightly decreased to US$48.7 million from US$49.7 million in Q2 FY23. Year-to-date, Ranpak’s net revenue climbed 5.3% to US$171.7 million, compared to US$163.1 million in the same period last year.
The company’s loss from operations for the first half (H1) of FY24 widened to US$10.0 million from US$4.5 million in H1 FY23.
Sign up to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World HERE
Be the first to leave a comment