Yahoo Finance Crown Holdings (CCK) Q1 Earnings Beat, Sales Lag Estimates
Crown Holdings, Inc. CCK reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.02, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 96 cents and also the company guidance of 90 cents-$1.00. The bottom line, however, declined 15% year over year as improved results in global beverage were offset by lower volumes in other businesses.
Including one-time items, the company reported earnings from continuing operations of 56 cents per share compared with 85 cents in the prior-year quarter.
Net sales totaled $2.78 billion, down 6% from the year-ago quarter’s $2.97 billion. The reported figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.93 billion.
Crown Holdings witnessed a 2.5% increase in global beverage shipments attributed to 7% growth in North America and 5% growth in Europe. However, this was offset by lower volumes across most businesses. The year-over-year decline in sales also reflected a pass-through of lower material costs, which was partially mitigated by favorable foreign currency translation.
Crown Holdings, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Crown Holdings, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Crown Holdings, Inc. Quote
Costs and Margins
The cost of products sold decreased 7% year over year to $2.25 billion. On a year-over-year basis, gross profit dipped 5% to $537 million. The gross margin was 19.3%, up from the year-ago quarter’s 18.9%.
Selling and administrative expenses were down 3.8% year over year to $154 million. CCK reported income from operations of $245 million compared with $269 million in the first quarter of 2023.
The total segment operating income was $308 million, which was 4% lower than the prior-year quarter’s figure of $320 million. Improved results in global beverage were offset by lower volumes in other businesses and $12 million in higher corporate costs, which include $8 million of costs related to a facility fire that led to the decline. Segment operating margin was 11.1% compared with 10.8% in the prior-year quarter.
Segment Performances
Net sales in the Americas Beverage segment totaled around $1.2 billion, down 3% year over year. The segment’s operating profit increased 6% year over year to $189 million.
The European Beverage segment’s sales inched up 0.6% year over year to $482 million. Operating income was $51 million, marking a 31% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s $39 million.
The Asia-Pacific segment’s revenues totaled $279 million, down 18% year over year. Operating profit was $42 million compared with the prior-year quarter’s $36 million.
Revenues in the Transit Packaging segment totaled $520 million, an 8% decline compared with the year-ago quarter’s $564 million. Operating profit declined 13% year over year to $68 million.
Financial Update
Crown Holdings had cash and cash equivalents of $1.1 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2024, up from $0.4 billion at the end of the prior-year quarter. The company used $102 million of cash from operating activities compared with a usage of $235 million in the prior-year period.
Crown Holdings’ long-term debt fell to $6.62 billion at the end of first-quarter 2024 from $7.05 billion at the prior-year quarter’s end.
Outlook
Crown Holdings projects second-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS between $1.55 and $1.65. It projects full-year adjusted EPS of $5.80-$6.20.
Price Performance
Crown Holdings’ shares declined 4% in the past year against the industry’s 13.3% growth.
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Zacks Rank
Crown Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Q1 Performance of Other Packaging Stocks
AptarGroup, Inc. ATR reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $1.26, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.13. The bottom line increased 31% from 95 cents (including comparable exchange rates) per share in the year-ago quarter aided by strong sales growth in the Pharma business and continued margin expansion in the Beauty and Closures businesses.
AptarGroup’s total revenues increased 6.4% year over year to $915 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $897 million. Core sales, excluding currency and acquisition effects, improved 5% year over year.
Sonoco Products Co. SON reported adjusted EPS of $1.12 in the first quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.08. The bottom line fell 20% from the prior-year quarter’s level as gains from improved productivity were offset by price/cost pressures and lower volumes.
Sonoco’s net sales were $1.64 billion, which fell short of the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. The top line fell 5.3% year over year on lower volumes and pricing, somewhat offset by acquisitions.
Packaging Corporation of America PKG reported adjusted EPS of $1.72 in the first quarter of 2024, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.63. The bottom line decreased 22% year over year mainly due to lower prices and mix in the Packaging and Paper segments. These were partially offset by higher volumes in the Packaging and Paper segments.
PKG’s sales in the quarter rose 0.2% year over year to $1.98 billion. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.91 billion.
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