Ball blames macroeconomic environment for drop in sales, profits

WESTMINSTER — Ball Corp. (NYSE: BALL) posted lower year-over-year revenues and earnings in the fourth quarter of 2022, laying the blame for its performance mostly at the feet of macroeconomic factors such as inflation.

Ball’s fourth quarter 2022 net earnings were $55 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, on sales of $3.55 billion. That’s down from revenues of $297 million, or 90 cents per diluted share, on sales of $3.67 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

“The company’s 2022 results were driven by macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions leading to lower volume across the Americas, higher costs to manage inventory levels and decisive actions to align supply/demand and sell our Russian operations in response to the war in Ukraine,” Ball CEO Daniel Fisher said in a prepared statement. “Our employees’ agility to execute during another year of unprecedented and challenging activities with speed and empathy speaks to their professionalism and ownership mindset. In 2023, inflationary cost recovery, actions to reduce costs and operating safely and efficiently to serve sustainable aluminum packaging demand and deliver critical aerospace programs will significantly improve results in 2023.”

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Company leaders expect to right the ship by mid-2023.

“Given recent volume trends, the earnings headwind and inventory levels are expected to normalize as we enter the second quarter 2023 busy summer selling season,” the company said. “Fixed cost-savings from plant closures and the contractual recovery of prior year inflationary costs will also improve year-over-year results, largely in the second half of 2023.”

Ball is “controlling the things we can control in today’s global economic and geopolitical environment,” Ball chief financial officer Scott Morrison said in a prepared statement. “Following actions executed in the second half of 2022, we remain well-positioned for earnings and free cash flow growth, achieving appropriate leverage targets and returning value to shareholders.”