Sonoco Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2021 Results

Sonoco (NYSE: SON), one of the largest sustainable global packaging companies, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and full year, both ending December 31, 2021.

Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Highlights
•Fourth-quarter 2021 net sales were $1.44 billion, up from $1.38 billion in 2020. Full-year 2021 net sales were $5.59 billion, compared to $5.24 billion in 2020.
•Fourth-quarter 2021 GAAP earnings per diluted share was $0.66, compared with a GAAP loss per diluted share of $(0.12) in 2020. The full-year 2021 GAAP loss per diluted share was $(0.86), compared to GAAP earnings per diluted share of $2.05 in 2020. The full-year 2021 GAAP loss was driven by $410.4 million after-tax pension settlement charges mostly related to the Company’s settlement of its U.S. Inactive Plan in the second quarter.
•2021 fourth-quarter results include net after-tax charges of $0.24 per diluted share related to restructuring charges, acquisition-related activity, non-operating pension costs, and other non-base items. Prior-year results included net after-tax charges of $0.56 per diluted share primarily related to non-cash asset impairments, $0.17 per diluted share from the loss on the divestiture of the Company’s European contract packaging business and charges from restructuring, non-operating pension and acquisition/divestiture costs.
•Base net income attributable to Sonoco (base earnings) for the quarter was $0.90 per diluted share, compared with $0.82 in 2020. Full-year 2021 base earnings per diluted share were $3.55, compared to $3.41 in 2020. (See base earnings definition, explanation and reconciliation to GAAP earnings later in this release.) Sonoco previously provided fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 base earnings guidance of $0.84 to $0.90 and $3.49 to $3.55 per diluted share, respectively.
•Full-year cash flow from operations was $298.7 million in 2021, compared with $705.6 million in 2020. Free cash flow in 2021 was $55.8 million, compared with $524.5 million in 2020. (See free cash flow definition and reconciliation to cash flow from operations later in this release.)
•On January 26, 2022, Sonoco completed the acquisition of Ball Metalpack, a leading manufacturer of sustainable steel tinplate packaging for food and household products and the largest aerosol can producer in North America, for $1.35 billion in cash subject to customary adjustments, including for working capital, cash, and indebtedness.

Full-Year and First Quarter 2022 Guidance Updates
•Full-year 2022 base earnings are expected to be in the range of $4.60 to $4.80 per diluted share, including the projected earnings benefit from the addition of Ball Metalpack. Effective with the first quarter of 2022, the Company has modified its definition of base earnings to exclude amortization expense on acquisition intangibles. This change was made to better align the Company’s definition of base earnings with those of its peers. Full-year 2021 base earnings per diluted share would have been $3.93 after adding back amortization expense on intangibles from acquisitions.
•Base earnings for the first quarter of 2022 are estimated to be in the range of $1.25 to $1.35 per diluted share. Base earnings per diluted share for the first quarter of 2021 would have been $1.00 after adding back amortization expense on acquisition intangibles.
•Full-year 2022 cash flow from operations and free cash flow are expected to be between $690 million to $740 million and $365 million to $415 million, respectively. This updated guidance reflects the expected benefit from the Ball Metalpack acquisition.

CEO Comments
Commenting on the Company’s full-year and fourth-quarter results, Sonoco President and Chief Executive Officer Howard Coker said, “As I look back at all we accomplished in 2021, I couldn’t be more proud of how our Sonoco team worked together to produce solid results despite unprecedented headwinds from storms, supply chain disruptions, inflation and the continuing effects of Covid-19. We aggressively drove price increases across all our businesses to counter higher raw material and non-material inflation. We increased capital spending to fund more high-return projects, including Project Horizon which is modernizing our Hartsville uncoated recycled paperboard complex. We better focused our sustainability efforts, including setting aggressive science-based targets to meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade. We simplified our portfolio by exiting the display and packaging business and recently added Ball Metalpack, which further expands our sustainable consumer packaging offering while being immediately accretive to base earnings and cash flow. Finally, we returned a record $397 million in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

“In the fourth quarter, our balanced mix of Consumer and Industrial packaging businesses performed well as we achieved results at the high end of our base earnings guidance despite facing market disruptions and continued cost pressures. Overall, our bottom-line results benefited from strong productivity, an overall positive price/cost relationship, and a lower effective tax rate. These positive factors were partially offset by the impact of four fewer shipping days compared to last year’s fourth quarter and the divestiture of the display and packaging business. Our Industrial Paper Packaging segment achieved a sixth consecutive quarter of sales growth while operating profit increased by almost 33 percent as demand and price realization continued to improve. Our Consumer Packaging segment operating profit declined 14 percent from the prior-year quarter reflecting a normalization of demand from the heightened eat-at-home trends experienced last year and the impact of higher costs. Finally, our All Other group of businesses, which includes industrial plastics, protective and retail security packaging, and health care packaging, reported a 34.5 percent decline in operating profit primarily stemming from the display and packaging divestiture.”
more at: https://investor.sonoco.com/news-releases/news-release-details/sonoco-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2021-results

Related Posts

Tredegar Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results

Fourth quarter 2021 net income from continuing operations was $21.4 million ($0.63 per diluted share) compared to $6.5 million ($0.19 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income from ongoing operations, which excludes special items, was $6.2 million ($0.18 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to $9.7 million ($0.29 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2020. Full year 2021 net income from continuing operations was $57.9 million ($1.72 per diluted share) compared to net loss from continuing operations of $16.8 million ($0.51 per diluted share) in 2020. Net income from ongoing operations was $39.6 million ($1.18 per diluted share) in 2021 compared to $50.8 million ($1.51 per diluted share) in 2020. A reconciliation of net income (loss) from continuing operations, a financial measure calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), to net income from ongoing operations, a non-GAAP financial measure, for the three months and year ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, is provided in Note (a) of the Notes to the Financial Tables in this press release.

How Novolex Is Building A Brain Trust To Educate Consumers And Achieve Our Sustainability Goals

Novolex employees thrive when developing innovative new products, identifying more sustainable solutions, and stretching the boundaries of packaging to meet unique customer needs. At Novolex, we pride ourselves on collaborating across the industry, cultivating a broader brain trust with others in the manufacturing and packaging space. Certain issues—like recyclability or reusability—we can’t tackle alone. By joining coalitions focused on consumer education, collaborating with foodservice operators, participating in labeling systems like How2Recycle®, and fostering the construction of recycling infrastructure, we support consumers and elevate the entire industry. Last month, the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) launched the Flexible Film Recycling Alliance (FFRA), an initiative Novolex is proud to participate in. The alliance has plans to educate the public about the sustainability and recyclability of flexible plastic film products.

Label Traxx acquired by Amtech (labelandnarrowweb.com)

Amtech, LLC, an industrial software solutions provider to the packaging industry, has completed its acquisition of Label Traxx and its software suite for the label printing and flexible packaging segments. According to Amtech, the combination further solidifies Amtech’s position as a sought-after industrial software platform to the packaging industry. The combined company will provide software solutions to more than 750 customers and 1,200 manufacturing sites spanning packaging end markets across the globe, including in North America, Latin America and Europe. Label Traxx provides a comprehensive software suite with end-to-end capabilities including ERP, MES, MIS, CRM, and other solutions that are complementary to Amtech. The company serves a diverse, global customer base spanning more than 500 manufacturing sites that supply a wide variety of end markets.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search