Sonoco's reported profit fell sharply on a year-ago sale, while its adjusted earnings rose
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The headline profit fell by roughly four fifths. The reason is last year, not this year. Sonoco reported second-quarter GAAP net income of $105m, or $1.05 a diluted share, down from $493m, or $4.96, a year earlier, when the result included a $425m gain from selling its Thermoformed and Flexibles Packaging and Trident businesses.
Set the windfall aside and the operating picture is the opposite of the headline. Adjusted net income rose 10.6 percent to $151m, or $1.51 a share, GAAP operating profit rose to $193m from $176m, and adjusted EBITDA was $324m. Sonoco said its industrial paper packaging segment exceeded expectations, with North American recycled paperboard volume up 6 percent and paper-can volume up 9 percent in Europe and Asia.
Cash was strong on one measure and negative on another. Operating cash flow set a second-quarter record of $301m, while the company used $67m year-to-date after about $103m in one-time taxes on last year's sales. It reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
