Sonoco Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

Sonoco Products Company (“Sonoco” or the “Company”), a core mid-cap growth and value equity which is a global leader in high-value sustainable packaging, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 30, 2025.

References in today’s news release to consolidated “net sales,” “operating profit,” and “adjusted operating profit,” and Consumer Packaging segment “segment operating profit” and “segment adjusted EBITDA” along with the corresponding year-over-year comparable results, do not include results of the Company’s Thermoformed and Flexibles Packaging business and its global Trident business (collectively, “TFP”), which are being accounted for as discontinued operations.

Summary

• Completed $1.8 billion sale of TFP to TOPPAN Holdings Inc. on April 1, 2025; used approximately $1.5 billion in after-tax proceeds to significantly reduce debt
• Grew first quarter net sales by 30.6% to a record $1.7 billion
• Reported first quarter GAAP net income attributable to Sonoco of $54 million, down 16.5% from the same period in 2024, and diluted earnings per share of $0.55
• Improved adjusted net income attributable to Sonoco by 22.7% year over year to $137 million, and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.38
• Achieved record first quarter adjusted EBITDA of $338 million, up 38.0% from the prior-year quarter
• Delivered $17 million in favorable productivity from procurement savings, production efficiencies, and fixed cost reduction initiatives
• Invested $92 million of net capital in future growth and productivity projects during Q1 2025
• Raised quarterly common stock dividend to $0.53 in celebration of 100 consecutive years of paying dividends to shareholders
• Reaffirmed full year 2025 guidance to grow adjusted net income by approximately 20% and adjusted EBITDA by approximately 30%

First Quarter 2025 Consolidated Results

• First quarter net sales of $1.7 billion reflect an increase of 30.6% compared to the corresponding prior-year quarter, driven by a full quarter of sales from our Metal Packaging Europe, Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) business following the December 4, 2024 acquisition of Titan Holdings I B.V. (“Eviosys”). Additionally, price increases were partially offset by the loss of net sales from the divested Protexic Solutions business (“Protexic”) and two production facilities in China, and the negative impact of foreign currency translation. Overall, the impact of changes in sales volumes (excluding the impact of the Eviosys acquisition) was minimal as strong Consumer Packaging volume growth was offset by year-over-year volume declines in Industrial Paper Packaging results.
• GAAP operating profit for the first quarter increased to $127 million due to full quarter operating profit from our Metal Packaging EMEA business, a positive price/cost environment, lower restructuring costs, and strong productivity from certain procurement savings, production efficiencies, and fixed cost reduction initiatives. These positive factors were partially offset by increased costs related to acquisition and divestiture activities as well as a net loss related to the sale of our tube and core operations in Venezuela and a small construction tube operation in France.
• Effective tax rates on GAAP net income attributable to Sonoco and adjusted net income attributable to Sonoco, which exclude results of discontinued operations, were 30.9% and 25.7%, respectively, in the first quarter, compared to 18.6% and 26.2%, respectively, in the same period in 2024.

“Our first quarter results demonstrated the strength of the new Sonoco as our global team achieved record top-line and adjusted EBITDA performance, growing 31% and 38%, respectively, while adjusted earnings per share rose 23% despite higher-than-expected interest expense, taxes and the negative impact of currency exchange rates,” said Howard Coker, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Consumer Packaging segment sales grew 83% and adjusted EBITDA jumped 127%. We completed the first phase of the integration of Eviosys as it has been rebranded Sonoco Metal Packaging EMEA and we drove strong synergies across the global Metal Packaging enterprise. In addition to the benefit of the Eviosys acquisition, our Metal Packaging U.S. business achieved approximately 10% growth in organic volume/mix in the quarter. Our Industrial Paper Packaging segment improved adjusted EBITDA by 6% and EBITDA margin by approximately 200 basis points driven by year-over-year improvement in price/cost and productivity.”

Coker continued, “After the close of the quarter, we successfully completed an important step in our transformation to a simpler, stronger and more sustainable company with the sale of our Thermoformed and Flexibles Packaging business. We have used after-tax proceeds of approximately $1.56 billion to significantly reduce debt and strengthen our balance sheet. Today, our net leverage ratio is below 4.0X Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA and we remain on track to achieve our targeted net leverage of 3.0X to 3.3X by the end of 2026.”

First Quarter 2025 Segment Results

Sonoco reports its financial results in two reportable segments: Consumer Packaging (“Consumer”) and Industrial Paper Packaging (“Industrial”), with all remaining businesses reported as All Other.

Consumer Packaging

• Consumer segment net sales grew 83.4%, driven by full quarter sales attributable to Metal Packaging EMEA and year-over-year volume growth in Metal Packaging U.S.
• Segment operating profit and segment adjusted EBITDA grew primarily as a result of full-quarter profits from Metal Packaging EMEA and favorable price/cost in our U.S. metal cans packaging business.

Industrial

• Industrial segment net sales decreased 6.0% to $558 million as volume declines across the segment, the negative impact of foreign currency exchange rates, and the loss of net sales related to the 2024 divestiture of two production facilities in China were only partially offset by year-over-year price increases.
• Segment operating profit margin was 12.8% and adjusted EBITDA margin was 18.2% due to the positive impact of price/cost and productivity from certain procurement savings, production efficiencies, and fixed cost reduction initiatives, which were partially offset by the impact of other items and currency translation.

All Other

• Net sales declined 37% reflecting the loss of net sales from the divestiture of Protexic in 2024 and lower volume from industrial plastics.
• Operating profit and adjusted EBITDA declined 30% and 30%, respectively, due to the same drivers that negatively impacted net sales.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

• Cash and cash equivalents, including from discontinued operations, were $192 million as of March 30, 2025, compared to $443 million as of December 31, 2024, with the decrease primarily related to changes in net working capital.
• Total debt, including from discontinued operations, was $7.2 billion as of March 30, 2025, an increase of $87 million compared to December 31, 2024, primarily related to the financing for the Eviosys acquisition.
• Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, the outstanding $1.5 billion principal amount of borrowings under the 364-day term loan facility was repaid using proceeds from the sale of TFP.
• On March 30, 2025, the Company had available liquidity of $914 million, comprising available borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility of $722 million and cash on hand, including cash from discontinued operations.
• Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter ended March 30, 2025 was $(208) million, compared to $166 million in the same period of 2024. The main driver of the year-over-year change in operating cash flow was the increased seasonal need for working capital during the first half of the calendar year related to Metal Packaging EMEA. This working capital build is expected to reverse out during the second half of the year.
• Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from sales of fixed assets, for the first three months of 2025 were $92 million, compared to $86 million for the same period last year.
• Free Cash Flow for the first three months of 2025 was $(300) million compared to $80 million for the same period of 2024. Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure. See the Company’s definition of Free Cash Flow, the explanation as to why it is used, and the reconciliation to net cash provided by operating activities later in this release.
• Dividends paid during the quarter ended March 30, 2025 increased to $51 million compared to $50 million in the same period of the prior year.

Guidance⁽¹⁾         

Reaffirmed Full-Year 2025

• Adjusted EPS⁽²⁾: $6.00 to $6.20
• Cash flow from operating activities: $800 million to $900 million
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾: $1,300 million to $1,400 million

Commenting on the Company’s reaffirmed outlook, Sonoco’s Coker, said, “Our operational and financial targets for 2025 have not changed despite economic uncertainty. Our focus continues to be to ‘mind the store’ to continue to drive improved performance from our core Consumer and Industrial businesses while managing risk associated with changing macroeconomic conditions. We believe Sonoco is well-positioned to weather the evolving geopolitical landscape for three reasons. First, our manufacturing network is designed to serve local markets, reducing our exposure to cross-border disruptions and tariff-related risks. Second, while we are actively working with our customers to help manage the impacts of higher input costs driven by tariffs, our business model allows for pricing adjustments when necessary. Finally, we believe our transformed portfolio is significantly more resilient, with over two-thirds of our sales now coming from consumer food packaging, a segment that has historically demonstrated strong performance across economic cycles. Despite seasonal working capital changes, Sonoco remains a strong cash generator and our capital deployment priorities remain focused on investing in ourselves to drive growth and productivity improvements. Further, we intend to use proceeds from divestitures, along with projected free cash flow, to reduce debt and we are continuing to reward our shareholders with cash dividends as we have for an extraordinary 100 consecutive years.”

For the full first quarter results, click here.

⁽¹⁾ Sonoco’s 2025 guidance includes projected first quarter results from the TFP business. Guidance excludes any impact of other potential divestitures. Although the Company believes the assumptions reflected in the range of guidance are reasonable, given the uncertainty regarding the future performance of the overall economy, the effects of tariffs, trade policy and inflation, the challenges in global supply chains, potential changes in raw material prices, other costs, and the Company’s effective tax rate, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those described below, actual results could vary substantially. Further information can be found in the section entitled “Forward-looking Statements” in this release.

⁽²⁾ Full year 2025 GAAP guidance is not provided in this release due to the likely occurrence of one or more of the following, the timing and magnitude of which we are unable to reliably forecast without unreasonable efforts: restructuring costs and restructuring-related impairment charges, acquisition/divestiture-related costs, gains or losses from the sale of businesses or other assets, and the income tax effects of these items and/or other income tax-related events. These items could have a significant impact on the Company’s future GAAP financial results. Accordingly, quantitative reconciliations of Adjusted EPS and Adjusted EBITDA guidance and net debt/Adjusted EBITDA targets to the nearest comparable GAAP measures have been omitted in reliance on the exception provided by Item 10 of Regulation S-K.

About Sonoco

Sonoco (NYSE: SON) is a global leader in high-value sustainable metal and fiber consumer and industrial packaging. The Company is now a multi-billion-dollar enterprise with approximately 23,400 employees working in 285 operations in 40 countries, serving some of the world’s best-known brands. Guided by our purpose of Better Packaging. Better Life., we strive to foster a culture of innovation, collaboration and excellence to provide solutions that better serve all our stakeholders and support a more sustainable future. Sonoco was proudly named one of America’s Most Trustworthy and Responsible Companies by Newsweek in 2025. For more information on the Company, visit our website at www.sonoco.com.

Contact:

Roger Schrum – Interim Head of Investor Relations and Communications – roger.schrum@sonoco.com – (843) 339-6018

Source: Sonoco Products Company