Packaging Corp. reports Q1 EPS $1.72, consensus $1.68

Reports Q1 revenue $2.0B, consensus $1.91B. Commenting on reported results, Mark W. Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO, said, “Throughout the quarter, containerboard and corrugated products demand exceeded our expectations. We were able to service this higher demand from strong operational performance at our box plants and containerboard mills as well as from excellent execution of the conversion outage at our Jackson, AL mill which enabled us to restart both machines earlier than planned. Despite these efforts, with the higher demand, we ended the quarter at a record low weeks-of-inventory supply for this time of year. Prices and mix in the Packaging segment moved slightly higher from fourth quarter 2023 levels, although less than we anticipated due to our total announced increase not being recognized in the published benchmark prices. Volume in the Paper segment was very good at about 13% above guidance estimates, and an improved mix moved prices slightly higher from the previous quarter, as expected. In addition, during the quarter we announced a price increase of $100 per ton across all of our paper grades, and we began implementing these increases on April 1st. The strong volume in both the Packaging and Paper segments along with the continued emphasis on cost management and process efficiencies across our manufacturing and converting facilities drove operating and converting costs lower, even with the persistent inflation we continue to experience across most of our cost structure.”