Benzinga | Jan 27, 2022 06:58AM EST

Packaging Corp Of America Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates; Sees Q1 EPS Above Consensus

* Packaging Corp Of America (NYSE:PKG) reported fourth-quarter FY21 sales growth of 19% year-on-year, to $2.04 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $1.94 billion.

* Sales from the Packaging segment rose 22% Y/Y, and the Paper segment declined 8.6%.

* Gross profit increased 52.9% Y/Y to $509.9 million, with the margin expanding 550 basis points to 24.9%.

* The operating margin was 17.4%, and operating income for the quarter rose 87.9% to $355.7 million.

* EBITDA excluding special items of $462.8 million increased 58.1% Y/Y.

* Adjusted EPS of $2.76 beat the analyst consensus of $2.07.

* The company held $764.7 million in cash and equivalents as of December 31, 2021.

* During the quarter, the company repurchased over 1.4 million shares. The company's board of directors recently approved a new $1 billion repurchase authorization.

* Outlook: Packaging Corp Of America expects the first-quarter EPS of $2.50, above the consensus of $2.13.

* Price Action: PKG shares closed lower by 1.21% at $133.40 on Wednesday.