Sonoco Products Q4 Results Beat Estimates; Sees Q1, FY21 Earnings In Line With View

(RTTNews) - Sonoco Products Co. (SON) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net loss of $11.6 million or $0.12 per share, compared with net income of $44.9 million or $0.44 per share in the year-ago quarter.

However, base earnings for the quarter were $0.82 per share, compared with $0.75 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Net sales for the quarter grew 5.2 percent to $1.38 billion from $1.31 billion in the year-ago quarter.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.77 per share for the quarter on revenues of $1.31 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the first quarter of 2021, Sonoco forecast base earnings in a range of $0.80 to $0.90 per share, compared to $0.94 per share in the year-ago period.

For fiscal 2021, the company projects base earnings in a range of $3.40 to $3.60 per share.

The Street expects the company to report earnings of $0.87 per share for the first quarter and $3.51 per share for fiscal 2021.

Sonoco said it is moving forward with the previously announced termination of the Sonoco Pension Plan for Inactive Participants. Following completion of a limited lump sum offering early in the second quarter of 2021, the company expects to settle all remaining liabilities under this plan through the purchase of annuities in mid-2021.