Graham Packaging posts mixed results
blow-moulded plastic containers for the food and beverage
industries has reported that unit sales increased 11 per cent in
the first quarter of 2002, compared to the same period last year.
Graham Packaging Holdings, a US-based international manufacturer of blow-moulded plastic containers for the food and beverage industries has reported that unit sales increased 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2002, compared to the same period last year.
However, because of a decline in the average price of resin, the primary raw material utilised to produce the units, sales in dollars declined slightly compared to the same period last year.
Chief Financial Officer John E. Hamilton said worldwide sales in the first quarter of 2002 totalled $232 million (€254m), 2 per cent below the first quarter of 2001, but worldwide adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation were 19 per cent ahead of the same period last year.
"We are pleased with the improvement in earnings, which reflects the measures we have taken over the past 18 months to restructure and improve the operating costs of our business in reaction to the economic environment,"Hamilton said.
Hamilton also said net income totalled $3.2 million in the first quarter, compared to a net loss of $6.2 million in the same period last year.
"We are pleased to see customer volume rebound from a decline that occurred after September 11," CEO Philip R. Yates said. "In addition, as John Hamilton has pointed out, the restructuring initiatives we put in place have begun to make a significant positive impact."
The company employs approximately 4,000 people at 55 plants throughout North America, Europe, and Latin America. It produced more than eight billion containers and totalled worldwide sales of approximately $923 million in 2001.
