Greif reports ‘exceptional’ year with record financial results in 2021

Sales once again rose for Delaware, Ohio-based Greif as the company has announced its fourth-quarter earnings. The packaging producer reports net sales of $1,570.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with $1,161.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 — a 35 percent increase that Greif attributes to stronger volumes and higher selling prices.

The company also reports adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $211.3 million compared with EBITDA of $154.5 in the fourth quarter of 2020. Greif Chief Financial Officer Larry Hilsheimer says the adjusted EBITDA result overcame an old corrugated cardboard (OCC) index headwind of $51 million and approximately $40 million of nonvolume-related transportation and manufacturing inflation.

“Big picture, our team delivered excellent fourth-quarter results despite significant external challenges,” Hilsheimer said during Greif’s earnings call Dec. 9.

Greif President and CEO Pete Watson said during the earnings call that the company’s global industrial packaging business (GIP) sales were $951.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with $652.3 million in 2020, a nearly 3 percent increase benefited by a strong overall global primary product line.

GIP’s stronger volumes and higher average selling prices resulted in higher segment sales and gross profit year-over-year. Its fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose by approximately $47 million due to higher sales, partially offset by higher raw material manufacturing and transportation costs, Watson said.

“Generally speaking, our industrial end markets remain healthy,” Watson added. “Customers report solid order backlogs and strong underlying demand, but they do face external supply chain disruptions. Across GIP we see little indication of customers building inventory, but some are carrying more stock than normal due to supply chain disruptions impacting their ability to ship to their customers.”

Watson also reported the company’s Paper Packaging segment's fourth-quarter sales rose by roughly $120 million compared with the fourth quarter of 2020 due to stronger volumes and higher published containerboard and boxboard prices.

“Volume demand across our paper business remains strong that our combined mill backlogs exceed eight weeks,” Watson said. “Fourth-quarter volumes in our CorrChoice sheet feeder system were up 2.4 percent today versus the prior year. Demand for durables, e-commerce growth and the OEM’s [original equipment manufacturer's] auto supply chain all remained very solid, and we see no slowdown on the horizon.”

Greif also notes several environmental, social and governance (ESG) achievements in 2021. The company says it diverted 90 percent of waste from landfills at more than 140 of its global facilities, increasing its global diversion rate to nearly 85 percent compared with 70 percent in 2020, and 50 percent of its global facilities had achieved zero-waste-to-landfill status at year-end.

“The takeaway here is that Greif’s strong ESG focus is core to our plans for sustainable value creation,” Chief Operating Officer Ole Rosgaard said.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2022, Grief says it anticipates spending between $150 million and $170 million in capital expenditures and an adjusted Class A earnings per share of $5.85 million to $6.45 million.