(Reuters) – Packaging Corp of America reported a third-quarter profit and revenue exceeding Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, driven by price increases in its paper and packaging segments.
The Lake Forest, Illinois-based company makes packaging products for customers in industries such as food and beverages, paper products, and retail trade sectors.
Packaging Corp’s quarterly adjusted profit came in at $2.65 per share, surpassing average analysts’ estimates of $2.50 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Increased consumer spending and higher pricing power benefits companies like Packaging Corp as demand for its products improves following a post-pandemic slowdown.
Total revenue for the third quarter ended September 30 rose nearly 13% to $2.18 billion, compared with estimates of $2.09 billion.
“Very strong demand throughout the quarter led to all-time quarterly records for container board production, total box shipments and shipments per day,” said CEO Mark Kowlzan.
Its packaging segment saw per day shipments rise 5.8% sequentially, with corrugated products shipments increasing 11.1% from a year ago.
However, Kowlzan noted that total shipments for the corrugated business in the next quarter could be affected by two fewer shipping days and hurricane damage to the strawberry crops in Florida.
He also indicated a sequential decline in shipments in the paper segment, although demand in the packaging segment is expected to remain strong.
The company forecast fourth-quarter adjusted profits of $2.47 per share, slightly above the LSEG compiled mean of $2.46 per share.
(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti and Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
