Ball’s can shipments up but sales fell in second quarter without aerospace biz

WESTMINSTER — Aluminum can-manufacturing giant Ball Corp. (NYSE: BALL) shipped 2.8% more cans in the second quarter of 2024 than it did in the same period last year, but year-over-year sales slipped without revenues from Ball’s aerospace division, which it offloaded to a British defense contractor in February. 

In the second quarter of 2024, Ball posted net earnings attributable to the corporation of $158 million on sales of $2.96 billion. For the same period last year, those figures were $173 million and $3.07 billion, respectively.

After Ball Corp. (NYSE: BALL) sold Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. division to British aerospace and defense company BAE Systems PLC for about $5.6 billion, the company shifted its focus to improving shareholder value through stock repurchases. 

“We delivered strong second quarter results and returned $790 million to shareholders in the first half of 2024,” Ball CEO Daniel Fisher said in a prepared statement. “Leveraging our strong financial position and leaner operating model, the company remains uniquely positioned to enable our purpose of advancing the greater use of sustainable aluminum packaging. We continue to complement our purpose by driving innovation and sustainability on a global scale, unlocking additional manufacturing efficiencies and enabling consistent delivery of high-quality, long-term shareholder value creation.”