On Thursday, Delaware’s Greif, Inc., a world leader in industrial packaging products and services, today announced third quarter 2019 results.
Third Quarter Highlights include (all results compared to the third quarter of 2018 unless otherwise noted):
- Net sales increased by $240.5 million to $1,252.6 million.
- Gross profit increased by $62.3 million to $279.4 million.
- Net income of $62.7 million or $1.06 per diluted Class A share decreased compared to net income of $67.7 million or $1.15 per diluted Class A share. Net income, excluding the impact of adjustments(1), of $74.7 million or $1.26 per diluted Class A share increased compared to net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $70.9 million or $1.20 per diluted Class A share. Adjusted EBITDA(2)increased by $57.5 million to $203.8 million.
- Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $90.2 million to $141.5 million. Adjusted free cash flow(3) increased by $26.0 million to $107.1 million.
“Greif produced solid third quarter 2019 results despite ongoing market softness and a weakening industrial economy,” said Pete Watson, Greif’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Third quarter adjusted EBITDA rose by roughly 39.0 percent versus the prior year quarter, while Class A earnings per share, excluding the impact of adjustments, increased by 5.0 percent.”
“Our newly acquired Caraustar operations performed better than our original assumptions. However, we faced weaker market demand in our containerboard operations and in certain segments of our Rigid Industrial Packaging business. In light of external headwinds, we are implementing additional optimization measures in parts of our portfolio to lower costs and better navigate challenging market conditions. We remain laser focused on those areas within our control to more profitability serve our customers. I remain highly confident in our long term plan to drive more sustainable free cash flow, delever our balance sheet, and grow our profits.
The day before, Greif announced that its Board of Directors has declared quarterly cash dividends of $0.44 per share on its Class A Common Stock, and $0.66 per share on its Class B Common Stock.
The dividends are payable on October 1, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 17, 2019.
