Greif Reports First Quarter 2012 Results
May 29, 2012
Greif Inc., a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, announced results for its first quarter.
The company reported first quarter net sales of $992.7 million, operating profit of $58.3 million, net income attributable to Greif, Inc. of $23.9 million or $0.41 per diluted Class A share, operating profit before special items of $69.4 million, net income attributable to Greif, Inc. before special items of $31.8 million, or $0.55 per Class A share before special items and EBITDA of $97.2 million.
Segment Results
Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services
Net sales increased 8 percent to $703.3 million for the first quarter 2012 compared with $653.9 million for the first quarter 2011. EBITDA was $58.3 million and $67.0 million for the first quarters 2012 and 2011, respectively.
Flexible Products & Services
Net sales were $114.8 million for the first quarter 2012 compared with $128.0 million for the first quarter 2011. EBITDA was $6.5 million for the first quarter 2012 and $6.9 million for first quarter 2011.
Paper Packaging
Net sales increased 7 percent to $168.1 million for the first quarter 2012 compared with $156.8 million for the first quarter 2011 primarily driven by higher volumes. EBITDA was $28.4 million for the first quarter 2012 compared with $25.9 million for the first quarter 2011 due to the same factors noted above.
Land Management
Net sales were $6.5 million for the first quarter 2012 compared with $5.1 million for the first quarter 2011. EBITDA was $4.0 million and $3.9 million for the first quarters of 2012 and 2011, respectively.
Other Financial Information
Working capital was $475.1 million at Jan. 31, 2012, compared with $375.5 million at Oct. 31, 2011. Capital expenditures were $40.7 million, excluding timberland purchases of $2.6 million, for the first quarter 2012 compared with capital expenditures of $40.5 million, excluding timberland purchases of $0.4 million, for the first quarter 2011.
Company Outlook
The company anticipates overall modest sequential quarter improvement despite continuation of challenging market conditions, especially in Europe, for its Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services and Flexible Products & Services businesses. These market conditions are expected to improve during the second half of fiscal 2012. The company reaffirms that EBITDA is anticipated to be between $500 million and $550 million for 2012.
David B. Fischer, president and chief executive officer, said, “Continued weakness in the industrial sector and market pressure, especially in Europe, were challenging issues through the first quarter 2012 for the Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services and Flexible Products & Services segments. There are initial signs of improvement in recent sales volumes. Contingency actions that we implemented beginning in the second half of 2011 are helping to mitigate the impact of these market conditions. We remain focused on integrating acquisitions and implementing plans to increase cash flow during 2012.”
Directly released from Greif