Windsor glass manufacturer reports big losses in 2024

WINDSOR — O-I Glass Inc., which has a manufacturing facility in Windsor, reported massive losses in the fourth quarter of 2024, but not as large as they were in the prior year.

In all, the Ohio-based Fortune 500 company with operations in the U.S. and Europe, reported a loss of $125 million in the fourth quarter, according to a company news release. That compares to a loss of $439 million in the prior year.

OI shares were selling at $12.30 Thursday morning, after closing at $12.06 Wednesday.

“2024 was a challenging year for the company, with a decline in net sales and earnings before income taxes, Gordon Hardie, O-I Glass CEO said in the release. “Performance was impacted by market pressures including lower average selling prices, reduced sales volumes and temporarily higher operating costs, as we cut our inventory levels. Faced with these challenges, we took decisive action to reduce costs and manage working capital.”

Earnings before income taxes were $38 million in 2024, compared to $67 million in the prior year. Both years included items not representative of ongoing operations, such as $236 million in restructuring, pension settlement and asset impairment and other charges in 2024 and a $445 million goodwill impairment charge in the North America reporting unit in 2023, the release stated.

The company’s American segment recorded recording profit of $392 million, which was down from $511 million in the prior year. This decline was due to lower net price which impacted earnings by $41 million, a $37 million headwind from a 3.5 percent decline in sales volume (in tons), and a $44 million increase in operating costs attributed to additional temporary production curtailments to rebalance inventory levels and start-up costs at the company’s first MAGMA greenfield line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  In Europe, the company reported $356 million in operating profit, compared to $682 million in the prior year’s operating profit.

“Performance was impacted by market pressures, including lower average selling prices, reduced sales volumes, and temporarily higher operating costs, as we cut our inventory levels. Faced with these challenges, we took decisive action to reduce costs and manage working capital,” Hardie said in the release.

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