Comparable Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) for Q1 2024: Reported at $0.68, compared to $0.69 in Q1 2023.
First Quarter Sales: Decreased slightly due to the pass-through of lower aluminum prices and lower volumes in North America, offset by inflationary costs and increased volumes in South America.
Comparable Net Earnings for Q1 2024: Stood at $217 million, remaining flat year-over-year.
Global Beverage Can Shipments: Increased by 3.7% in the quarter.
Former Aerospace Business Contribution: Made $27 million of comparable operating earnings up to the sale date of February 16, 2024.
Future Guidance
Net Debt to Comparable EBITDA: Anticipated to be below 2.5x by the end of 2024, with a current standing at 2.2x after Q1.
2024 Capital Expenditures: Targeted to be in the range of $650 million, showing a reduction of $400 million year-over-year.
Share Repurchases: Expected to be in the range of $1.3 billion by year-end 2024, with approximately $350 million repurchased year-to-date.
Effective Tax Rate for 2024: Expected to be approximately 21%.
Interest Expense for 2024: Expected to be in the range of $320 million.
Full-Year Adjusted Corporate Undistributed Costs: Expected to be in the range of $85 million.
Anticipated Growth: Comparable diluted EPS expected to grow mid-single digits plus off 2023 reported comparable EPS of $2.90 per share.
Trends, Market Conditions, Sentiment
Sale of Aerospace Business: Completed on February 16, 2024, significantly contributing to reducing leverage and strengthening the balance sheet.
Aluminum Packaging’s Performance: Continues to outperform other substrates globally, with increased demand for innovative, sustainable options.
Regional Performance Variations: North America faces lower year-over-year results due to volume declines and U.S. beer brand disruption, while South America and EMEA regions show stronger performance and volume increases, particularly in Brazil.
Operational Efficiencies: Substantial improvements made by optimizing the company’s well-capitalized plant assets and enhancing operational efficiencies.
Market Challenges: Includes adjusting to the dynamic economic situations such as in Argentina and managing through varying consumer demand conditions in different regions.
Notable Quotes
”Our team delivered strong first quarter results following the successful and earlier-than-anticipated sale of the Aerospace business during the quarter.” - Daniel Fisher, CEO
”We are on track to achieve our free cash flow target. Share repurchases are expected to be in the range of $1.3 billion by year-end.” - Howard Yu, EVP and CFO
”Looking ahead, we are focused on executing our enterprise-wide strategy to advance sustainable aluminum packaging solutions on a global scale” - Daniel Fisher, CEO
”The runway is clear for us to activate near-term initiatives to consistently deliver high-quality results and generate compounding shareholder returns.” - Howard Yu, EVP and CFO
