US packaging giant Crown Holdings has reported a 2011 fourth quarter net income of $8m, an 82% drop compared to the $45m taken in the corresponding quarter last year.
The net income decline is due to the company’s core results being offset by one-time restructuring costs, according to Dow Jones.
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Excluding certain items, the company’s net income during the quarter ending 31 December 2011 increased to $73m from $68m in the same quarter a year ago.
Crown’s Q4 net sales rose to $2.06bn against $1.95bn last year quarter, with the company attributing the growth to higher raw material costs and higher sales unit volumes of beverage cans in its Americas beverage segment, the firm’s largest business.
According to the packaging major, its sales were offset by lower sales unit volumes of food cans and a decrease of $27m from foreign currency exchange.
Crown, which benefited from strong volume demand in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and Thailand, said it continues to invest for further growth in those regions.
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By GlobalDataCrown Holdings chairman and chief executive John Conway said that global beverage can volumes were up 9% compared to the 13% volume growth in the year ago quarter, reflecting the firm’s market capacity additions and demand in Brazil and Asia.
For the full year, net sales improved to $8.64bn versus $7.94bn in 2010, reflecting higher global sales unit volumes, the pass-through of higher raw material costs and $197m of foreign currency translation.
The company observed that 74% of sales came from outside the US in 2011, compared with 73% a year ago.
Gross profit rose to $1.34bn in 2011 compared to $1.25bn a year ago while segment income grew 7.1% to $953m over $890m in 2010.
