Call Start: 09:00 January 1, 0000 9:56 AM ET

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)

Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call

April 26, 2022, 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Timothy J. Donahue – President & Chief Executive Officer

Kevin Clothier – Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Ghansham Panjabi – Baird

Kyle White – Deutsche Bank

George Staphos – Bank of America

Philip Ng – Jefferies

Michael Leithead – Barclays

Gabe Hajde – Wells Fargo Securities

Bryan Burgmeier – Citi

Arun Viswanathan – RBC Capital Markets

Christopher Parkinson – Mizuho

Micheal Roxland – Truist Securities

Anojja Shah – BMO Capital Markets

Angel Castillo – Morgan Stanley

Adam Samuelson – Goldman Sachs

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to Crown Holdings ' First Quarter 2022 Conference Call. Your lines have been placed in a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session. Please be advised that this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Kevin Clothier, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Sir, you may begin.

Kevin Clothier

Thank you, Kerry (ph). And good morning. With me on today's call is Tim Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer. If you don't already have the earnings release, it is available on our website at crowncork.com. On this call, as in the earnings release, we will be making a number of forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially from such statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to vary is contained in the press release and in our SEC filings, including our Form 10-K for 2021 and subsequent filings.

The company's recorded earnings in the quarter of $1.74 per share compared to earnings of $1.57 a share in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings per share increased to $2.01 in the quarter compared to $1.83 in 2021. Net sales in the quarter were up 23% from the prior year primarily due to the pass-through of higher raw material costs, and increased beverage can volumes. Segment income was $383 million in the quarter compared to $369 million in the prior year primarily due to improved profitability in North America n tinplate businesses and can-making equipment, including a net benefit of $30 million from lower cost inventory, offset by the timing of insurance recovery for the incremental costs related to the Bowling Green tornado and $8 million of unfavorable foreign exchange.

We have repurchased 400 million of Crown common stock to date from the $3 billion. Program that was that the board authorized in December. While Brazil remains soft, we do expect volumes to begin to recover in Q2. And throughout the year. And when combined with the stronger U.S. dollar and higher energy costs in Europe, we now project EBITDA to be 1 billion $970 million for the year for the full-year. Our estimate for adjusted earnings for the Second Quarter is in the range of $2 to $2.10 per share.