ATLANTA, April 23, 2019 --
Highlights
- Q1 Net Sales were $1,505.9 million versus $1,477.4 million in the prior year period.
- Q1 Earnings per Diluted Share were $0.19 versus $0.10 in the prior year period.
- Q1 Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share were $0.21 versus $0.19 in the prior year period.
- Q1 Net Income was $57.9 million versus $29.9 million in the prior year period.
- Q1 Adjusted EBITDA was $259.7 million versus $230.8 million in the prior year period.
- Returned $89 million to stakeholders in Q1 through $60 million of share repurchases, $23 million of dividends, and $6 million of distributions to the GPIP Partner.
Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE: GPK), (the "Company"), a leading provider of packaging solutions to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies, today reported Net Income for first quarter 2019 of $57.9 million, or $0.19 per share, based upon 298.2 million weighted average diluted shares. This compares to first quarter 2018 Net Income of $29.9 million, or $0.10 per share, based on 311.3 million weighted average diluted shares.
First quarter 2019 Net Income was negatively impacted by a net $3.8 million of special charges that are detailed in the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures table attached. When adjusting for these charges, Adjusted Net Income for the first quarter of 2019 was $61.7 million, or $0.21 per diluted share. This compares to first quarter 2018 Adjusted Net Income of $58.1 million or $0.19 per diluted share.
"We are very pleased with our performance in the first quarter reflecting a 160 basis point improvement in our Adjusted EBITDA margin to 17.2%. First quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $260 million was ahead of our expectations driven by strong execution on pricing, performance, growth initiatives, and synergies" said President and CEO Michael Doss. "Pricing improved by $32 million during the quarter reflecting the benefits of pricing initiatives executed throughout 2018. Importantly, our pricing to commodity input cost relationship was a positive $16 million. The business operated well in the quarter generating $31 million in performance improvements driven by a continued emphasis on cost efficiencies, benefits from capital projects, and realization of synergies. We are starting to see benefits from the shift away from plastics into our innovative paperboard solutions and this was particularly evident in our strong European sales during the first quarter. We are generating improved profitability in 2019 driven by our pricing, new product development, and productivity initiatives."
Source: Graphic Packaging
