Benzinga | Nov 3, 2021 02:08PM EDT

RR Donnelley Q3 Earnings Surpass Wall Street View

* RR Donnelley & Sons Co (NYSE:RRD) reported third-quarter net sales growth of 6.4% year-over-year to $1.27 billion, +5.5% on an organic basis, beating the consensus of $1.19 billion.

* Adjusted EPS improved to $0.57 from $0.32 in 3Q20, beating the consensus of $0.32.

* The gross margin contracted by 70 bps to 20.1%, and the adjusted gross margin was 19.4% compared to 20.1% a year ago.

* The operating income was $73.1 million, compared to $15.9 million a year ago, and the margin expanded by 450 bps to 5.8%.

* RRD's cash used in operating activities year-to-date was $29 million compared to cash provided by operating activities of $25.2 million a year ago.

* Adjusted EBITDA was $119.2 million (+4.8% Y/Y), and margin contracted by 10 bps to 9.4%.

* The company held cash and equivalents of $223.5 million as of September 30, 2021.

* Separately, RRD announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Atlas Holdings LLC for an total enterprise value of approximately $2.1 billion.

* RRD stockholders will receive $8.52 per share in cash for each share of RRD common stock. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022.

* Also read: RRD Agrees To Be Acquired By Atlas; Chatham Boosts RRD Offer.

* Price Action: RRD shares are trading higher by 37.9% at $9.09 on the last check Wednesday.