CCK Crown Holdings Inc

TAMPA, Fla., July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Net sales in the second quarter were $3,040 million compared to $3,109 million in the second quarter of 2023 reflecting higher global beverage can shipments offset primarily by the pass through of $94 million in lower material costs and unfavorable foreign currency of $13 million.

Income from operations was $379 million in the second quarter compared to $367 million in the second quarter of 2023.  Segment income in the second quarter of 2024 was $437 million compared to $414 million in the prior year second quarter driven by improved results in global beverage operations.

Commenting on the quarter, Timothy J. Donahue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The Company performed well during the quarter, led by strong results in each of the global beverage businesses.  Benefitting from our broad geographic presence and strategic customer alliances, beverage segment income improved by 21% in the second quarter on a combined global basis.  Beverage can shipments improved 6% globally in the second quarter, including 9% in North America.  Beverage can shipments in Europe and Latin America were also strong and exceeded longer-term expectations of low-to mid-single digit volume growth.

"Cash generated in our non-beverage businesses combined with tightly managed working capital and lower capital expenditures resulted in the Company delivering cash from operating activities of $343 million and record first half year free cash flow of $178 million.  Net leverage ended the quarter at 3.2 times down from 4.0 times a year earlier.

"In June, KPS Capital Partners announced the sale of European metal packaging supplier Eviosys.  Crown's 20% stake in Eviosys is included as part of the agreement with closing of the transaction anticipated later this year. 

"With improved earnings, strong free cash flow, and the expected proceeds from the Eviosys sale, we now expect year-end 2024 net leverage to be below 3.0 times.  Cash flow is expected to remain strong, allowing us to resume share repurchases while also continuing to delever towards our new long-term net leverage target of 2.5 times."

Net income attributable to Crown Holdings in the second quarter was $174 million compared to $157 million in the second quarter of 2023.  Reported diluted earnings per share were $1.45 in the second quarter of 2024 compared to $1.31 in 2023 and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.81 compared to $1.68 in 2023 reflecting higher global beverage can results.

Six Month Results       
Net sales for the first six months of 2024 were $5,824 million compared to $6,083 million in the first six months of 2023, reflecting higher global beverage can shipments, offset by the pass through of $224 million in lower material costs and lower volumes in most other businesses.

Income from operations was $624 million in the first half of 2024 compared to $636 million in the first half of 2023.  Segment income in the first half of 2024 was $745 million versus $734 million in the prior year period as improved results in global beverage operations offset lower volumes in most other businesses and higher corporate costs.

Net income attributable to Crown Holdings in the first six months of 2024 was $241 million compared to $259 million in the first six months of 2023.  Reported diluted earnings per share were $2.01 compared to $2.16 in 2023 and adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.83 compared to $2.88 in 2023.

Outlook
In light of first half operating results, the Company now projects full-year diluted EPS in the range of $6.00 to $6.25 compared to previous guidance of $5.80 to $6.20.  Free cash flow for the year is now expected to be at least $750 million.

Third quarter adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.75 to $1.85.

Non-GAAP Measures 
Segment income, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted net leverage ratio, adjusted net income, the adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted diluted earnings per share, net interest expense, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are not defined terms under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP measures).  Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for income from operations, cash flow, leverage ratio, net income, effective tax rates, diluted earnings per share or interest expense and interest income prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may not be comparable to calculations of similarly titled measures by other companies.

The Company views segment income as the principal measure of the performance of its operations and adjusted free cash flow and adjusted net leverage ratio as the principal measures of its liquidity.  The Company considers all of these measures in the allocation of resources.  Adjusted free cash flow has certain limitations, however, including that it does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures since other non-discretionary expenditures, such as mandatory debt service requirements, are not deducted from the measure.  The amount of mandatory versus discretionary expenditures can vary significantly between periods.  The Company believes that adjusted free cash flow and adjusted net leverage ratio provide meaningful measures of liquidity and a useful basis for assessing the Company's ability to fund its activities, including the financing of acquisitions, debt repayments, share repurchases or dividends.  The Company believes that adjusted net income, segment income, the adjusted effective tax rate and adjusted diluted earnings per share are useful in evaluating the Company's operations as these measures are adjusted for items that affect comparability between periods.  Segment income, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted net leverage ratio, adjusted net income, the adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted diluted earnings per share, net interest expense, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are derived from the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations, Cash Flows and Consolidated Balance Sheets, as applicable, and reconciliations to segment income, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted net leverage ratio, adjusted net income, the adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted diluted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA can be found within this release.  Reconciliations of estimated adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted effective tax rate and adjusted net leverage ratio for the third quarter and full year of 2024 to estimated diluted earnings per share, the effective tax rate and income from operations on a GAAP basis are not provided in this release due to the unavailability of estimates of the following, the timing and magnitude of which the Company is unable to reliably forecast without unreasonable efforts, which are excluded from estimated adjusted diluted earnings per share and could have a significant impact on earnings per share, adjusted effective tax rates and adjusted net leverage ratios on a GAAP basis: gains or losses on the sale of businesses or other assets, restructuring and other costs, asset charges, asbestos-related charges, losses from early extinguishment of debt, pension settlement and curtailment charges, the tax and noncontrolling interest impact of the items above, and the impact of tax law changes or other tax matters.

Conference Call
The Company will hold a conference call tomorrow, July 23, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) to discuss this news release.  Forward-looking and other material information may be discussed on the conference call.  The dial-in numbers for the conference call are 630-395-0194 or toll-free 888-324-8108 and the access password is "packaging."  A live webcast of the call will be made available to the public on the internet at the Company's website, www.crowncork.com.  A replay of the conference call will be available for a one-week period ending at midnight on July 30, 2024.  The telephone numbers for the replay are 203-369-3998 or toll free 800-876-5258.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all other information in this press release consists of forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the Company's ability to continue to operate its plants, distribute its products, and  maintain its supply chain; the future impact of currency translation; the continuation of performance and market trends in 2024, including consumer preference for beverage cans and global beverage can demand; the future impact of inflation, including the potential for higher interest rates and energy prices and the Company's ability to recover raw material and other inflationary costs; future demand for food cans; the Company's ability to deliver continuous operational improvement; future demand in the Transit Packaging segment; the timing and ultimate completion of the Eviosys sale and the Company's ability to decrease capital expenditures and increase cash flow and to further reduce net leverage that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.  Important factors that could cause the statements made in this press release or the actual results of operations or financial condition of the Company to differ are discussed under the caption "Forward Looking Statements" in the Company's Form 10-K Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in subsequent filings made prior to or after the date hereof.  The Company does not intend to review or revise any particular forward-looking statement in light of future events.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of packaging products for consumer goods and industrial products.  World headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida.

For more information, contact:
Kevin C. Clothier, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, (215) 698-5281
Thomas T. Fischer, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, (215) 552-3720

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations, Balance Sheets, Statements of Cash Flows, Segment Information and Supplemental Data follow.

Consolidated Supplemental Financial Data (Unaudited)
(in millions)

Reconciliation from Income from Operations to Segment Income
The Company views segment income, as defined below, as a principal measure of performance of its operations and for the allocation of resources.  Segment income is defined by the Company as income from operations adjusted to exclude intangibles amortization charges and provisions for restructuring and other.

Consolidated Supplemental Data (Unaudited)
(in millions, except per share data)

Reconciliation from Net Income and Diluted Earnings Per Share to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share

The following table reconciles reported net income and diluted earnings per share attributable to the Company to adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, as used elsewhere in this release. 

Adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share and the adjusted effective tax rate are non-GAAP measures and are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income, diluted earnings per share and effective tax rates determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.  The Company believes these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to evaluate the performance of the Company's ongoing business.

Adjusted free cash flow is defined by the Company as net cash from operating activities less capital expenditures and certain other items.  A reconciliation of net cash from operating activities to adjusted free cash flow for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 follows.

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SOURCE Crown Holdings, Inc.