Ball Q4 Profit More Than Doubles - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Ball Corp. (BLL) reported a surge in fourth-quarter 2013 net earnings attributable to the company to $124.5 million, or $0.85 per share, from $60.6 million, or $0.39 per share, a year before. On a comparable basis, earnings totaled $126.8 million or $0.86 per share for the recent quarter. On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $0.73 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Quarterly sales reached $2.0 billion, compared with $2.11 billion sales in the fourth quarter of 2012. Eleven analysts estimated revenues of $2.10 billion for the quarter.

Commenting on the outlook, Scott Morrison, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said: "We anticipate full-year 2014 free cash flow to be in the range of $550 million after capital expenditures of nearly $375 million with the majority of free cash flow being returned to shareholders via share repurchases." He added, "As we transition into 2014, we are confident in our ability to increase EVA dollar generation and achieve our long-term diluted earnings per share growth goal of 10 to 15 percent."