LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Apr. 22, 2025 - Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) today reported first quarter 2025 net income of $204 million, or $2.26 per share, and net income of $208 million, or $2.31 per share, excluding special items.
First quarter net sales were $2.1 billion in 2025 and $2.0 billion in 2024.
Commenting on reported results, Mark W. Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO, said, “A new first quarter revenue record was achieved to begin the new year. In the Packaging segment we had excellent implementation of our previously announced price increases and, although we began to see some pullback in the middle of the quarter related to the uncertainty created by global trade tensions, box demand was solid and exceeded a very strong comparative period in last year’s first quarter. Outstanding operational performance and scheduled outage execution at our mills delivered record first quarter containerboard production to meet this demand, and we ended the quarter at targeted inventory levels. Our Paper segment continued to achieve impressive margins with both volume and prices slightly above original estimates. Across the Company, continued emphasis on operational efficiency, cost reduction initiatives, and capital project execution helped minimize the persistent inflation we see throughout most of our cost structure.”
“Looking ahead as we move from the first and into the second quarter,” Mr. Kowlzan added, “as always, our attention will remain on what we can control. Our North American focus together with our balance sheet strength, well-capitalized mills and plants, commitment to strategic goals, and proven ability to respond quickly and effectively to external factors will serve us well during this period of economic uncertainty. We anticipate continued ambiguity relative to domestic and foreign tariff actions and their effect on global trade and our demand trends. Therefore, we have made certain assumptions in our guidance to recognize potential negative impacts to volume and costs from this uncertainty. In the Packaging segment, we expect domestic prices to improve with continued implementation of our price increases, along with fairly flat export prices. Although we see box shipments improving, operating costs will be negatively impacted due to lower containerboard volume as we run our operations to match demand assumptions. We have also adjusted our planned maintenance outage schedule and pulled up an outage that was scheduled for later in the year resulting in higher second quarter costs than what we had provided previously. In the Paper segment, implementation of the higher published index prices from the first quarter will continue, although volume will be lower with the planned maintenance outage at our International Falls, MN mill. Rail contract rate increases at six of our mills during the first and second quarters will result in higher freight and logistics expenses, and depreciation expense is assumed to be higher as well. Considering these items, we expect second quarter earnings of $2.41 per share.”
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Source: PCA
