Ball grows sales despite leaving Russia

WESTMINSTER — Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL), a Broomfield-based metal-packaging manufacturer with a major aerospace division, grew its sales in the first quarter of 2022 despite a decision in March to sell off its Russian assets as a result of that country’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

Total sales came in at $3.7 billion in the reported quarter, up 19% from the first quarter of 2021.

Ball’s first quarter 2022 comparable net earnings were $252 million, or 77 cents per diluted share, compared to $240 million, or 72 cents per diluted share in 2021. That missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 83 cents…