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Ball Corporation (BLL) Q3 Earnings Beat, Revenues Miss

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Ball Corporation reported third-quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of 96 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 92 cents. Earnings decreased 4% on a year-over-year basis. Earnings per share figure for the third quarter of 2016 reflects the impact of higher shares issued for the acquisitions of Rexam and Latapack-Ball.

On a reported basis, the company posted break-even results compared to earnings of 32 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Operational Update

Total revenue increased 34% year over year to $2,815 million in the reported quarter. Revenues lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,845 million.
 


Cost of sales increased 38% year over year to $2,338 million. Gross profit surged 17% year over year to $477 million. Gross margin contracted 250 basis points (bps) to 16.9%.

Selling, general and administrative expenses climbed 26% year over year to $135 million. Adjusted operating income jumped 36% to $311 million from $228 million in the year-ago quarter. The company reported operating margin of 11%, up 10 bps year over year.

Segment Performance

The Beverage packaging’s North and Central America segment’s revenues increased 32% year over year to $1,076 million in the reported quarter. Operating earnings of $145 million increased 33% year over year.

Sales at the Beverage packaging, Europe segment were $687 million in the reported quarter, advancing 52% year over year. Operating earnings increased 18% year over year to $72 million.

The Beverage packaging, South America segment’s revenues soared 137% year over year to $318 million in the reported quarter. Operating earnings of $60 million were a substantial improvement from $14 million in the prior-year quarter.

The Food and Aerosol Packaging segment’s sales were $329 million, declining 12% year over year. Operating earnings remained flat at $31 million.

In the Aerospace and Technologies segment, sales remained flat at $204 million. Operating earnings increased 14% year over year to $24 million. The segment’s backlog was at around $1.4 billion at the end of third quarter, more than double the year-end 2015 level.

Financial Condition

Ball Corporation had cash and cash equivalents of $645 million at the end of third quarter 2016 compared with $244 million at third quarter 2015 end. As of quarter end, Ball Corporation’s long-term debt increased to $7,724 million from $2,879 million as of Sep 30, 2015.

Outlook

Ball Corporation stated that the Rexam integration is progressing smoothly. Its long-term financial goals are well on track and the company remains optimistic that it will deliver approximately $150 million of synergies in 2017 with the full amount of at least $300 million expected by the end of 2019.

BALL CORP Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
 

BALL CORP Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | BALL CORP Quote

Broomfield, CO-based Ball Corp. is the largest manufacturer of beverage cans in North America. Further, it supplies aerospace as well as other technologies and services to the government and customers.

Zacks Rank

Currently, Ball Corporation has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other industrial product stocks worth considering are ACCO Brands Corporation (ACCO - Free Report) , Casella Waste Systems Inc. (CWST - Free Report) and NN Inc. . All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ACCO Brands has witnessed a 4% increase in its earnings estimate to 85 cents for 2016. Casella Waste Systems has seen upward estimate revisions of 133% over the past 30 days and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2016 is pegged at 7 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NN Inc. has also moved up 1% over the last 30 days to $1.69 per share.

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