Sonoco Delivered Better Than Expected Start to 2021

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Hartsville, S.C.-based global packaging major Sonoco reported financial results for its first quarter ended April 4, 2021.

The company’s Q1 2021 earnings were $0.71 per diluted share, compared with $0.80 in the comparable quarter in 2020. The base earnings for the quarter were $0.90 per diluted share, compared with $0.94 in 2020. The company had earlier guided for base earnings of $0.80 to $0.90 per diluted share for the quarter. The quarterly net sales surged higher from $1.30 billion to $1.35 billion over the year. The cash flow from operations totalled $138.7 million in the first three months of 2021.

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Sonoco expects Q2 2021 base earnings to be in a range of $0.82 to $0.88 per diluted share. The full-year base earnings per diluted share are expected to range between $3.50 and $3.60. The company expects full-year 2021 cash provided from operations to remain flat at $570 million to $600 million. The free cash flow guidance also is forecast to remain unchanged at $270 million to $300 million.

The Consumer Packaging Segment operating profit was $75.6 million, whereas the Industrial Paper Packaging segment reported operating profit of $50.2 million.

Howard Coker, President and Chief Executive Officer commented that the company’s bottom line results benefited from productivity gains and improved volume/mix.