Ball Corp. turns $399M profit in 2017; aerospace nets $98M

BROOMFIELD — Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) on Wednesday reported a profit of $399 million for 2017, a 52 percent increase compared with $263 million in 2016.

The Broomfield-based manufacturer of metal packaging for the beverage, food, personal-care and household-products industries had sales of $11.2 billion for the year compared with $9.1 billion in 2016.

Fourth-quarter 2017 profit was $184 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, on sales of $2.75 billion, compared with $52 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, on sales of $2.5 billion, in the fourth quarter of 2016.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Empowering communities

Rocky Mountain Health Plans (RMHP), part of the UnitedHealthcare family, has pledged its commitment to uplift these communities through substantial investments in organizations addressing the distinct needs of our communities.

Ball Corp.’s subsidiary, Boulder-based Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., posted a profit of $98 million for 2017 on sales of $991 million, compared with $88 million on sales of $818 million during 2016.

Ball Aerospace during the fourth quarter of 2017 had a profit of $28 million on sales of $257 million, compared to $26 million on sales of $241 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

In its earnings report, Ball said the aerospace segment finished 2017 with record contracted backlog of $1.75 billion and hired in excess of 400 employees in the United States during the year.

The company said facility expansions in Westminster and Boulder are on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2018, and the business anticipates hiring at least 450 additional U.S. employees by the end of 2018.