Amcor misses expectations for quarterly sales as packaging demand lags

WestRock Co

06/02/2024 23:14

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Packaging company Amcor Plc  485.F 
 AMCR.N  missed market expectations for second-quarter sales on
Tuesday, hurt by softer demand for its containers and cartons.
    The company's volumes were dragged by weaker demand from
customers such as Cadbury parent Mondelez International  MDLZ.O 
 trimming their inventory levels on lower demand from
cash-strapped consumers.
    Its peers including International Paper  IP.N  and WestRock
 WRK.N  also struggled with weakening demand for their packaging
products.
    The company said that inventory destocking in the beverages
segment accelerated "considerably" in the reported quarter due
to lower consumer demand. In North America, overall beverage
volumes were 19% lower than same period last year. 
    Softer demand in categories such as healthcare, snacks and
coffee also dampened net sales in Europe.
    Still, the company maintained its fiscal 2024 adjusted
earnings per share forecast, with CEO Ron Delia adding that
Amcor saw volumes improve in January.
    Amcor's net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023 fell
to $3.25 billion from $3.64 billion last year, compared with
analysts' expectation of $3.63 billion, as per LSEG data. 

 (Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry and Juveria Tabassum in
Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
 ((AnujaBharat.Mistry@thomsonreuters.com;))