Yahoo Finance

• Fourth Quarter Net Income: $221 million or $2.45 per share.

• Fourth Quarter Net Income (Excluding Special Items): $222 million or $2.47 per share.

• Fourth Quarter Net Sales: $2.1 billion.

• Fourth Quarter EBITDA (Excluding Special Items): $439 million.

• Full Year 2024 Net Sales: $8.4 billion.

• Full Year 2024 Earnings (Excluding Special Items): $814 million or $9.04 per share.

• Packaging Segment Fourth Quarter EBITDA (Excluding Special Items): $426 million.

• Packaging Segment Fourth Quarter Sales: Almost $2.0 billion.

• Packaging Segment Full Year 2024 EBITDA (Excluding Special Items): $1.6 billion.

• Packaging Segment Full Year 2024 Sales: $7.7 billion.

• Paper Segment Fourth Quarter EBITDA (Excluding Special Items): $39 million.

• Paper Segment Fourth Quarter Sales: $152 million.

• Cash Provided by Operations (Fourth Quarter): $325 million.

• Free Cash Flow (Fourth Quarter): $124 million.

• Year-End Cash Balance: $852 million.

• Liquidity: $1.2 billion.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with PMMAF.

Release Date: January 29, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG) reported a record fourth quarter net income of $221 million, or $2.45 per share, up from $192 million, or $2.13 per share, in the same quarter of 2023.

• The company achieved record fourth quarter net sales of $2.1 billion, an increase from $1.9 billion in the previous year.

• Strong demand in the Packaging segment led to record shipments and production levels, with a 9.1% increase in total shipments compared to the previous year.

• The company successfully completed the conversion of the No. 3 machine to containerboard at the Jackson mill, enhancing production capabilities.

• Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG) ended the year with $1.2 billion in liquidity, maintaining a strong balance sheet and financial flexibility for future opportunities.

Negative Points

• Higher operating costs due to inflation impacted the company's cost structure, offsetting some of the gains from increased sales and pricing.

• Scheduled maintenance outage expenses and depreciation costs were higher, contributing to increased operational expenses.

• The company faced challenges with the RISI Pulp and Paper Week publication not recognizing industry-wide price increases for linerboard and medium, causing frustration.

• Despite strong demand, the company experienced inefficiencies due to the influx of volume and ongoing capital projects, impacting cost management.

• The company anticipates higher costs in 2025 due to increased labor, benefits, and energy expenses, as well as significant rail rate increases.