Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 23, 2024 9:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Timothy Donahue - President and CEO
Kevin Clothier - SVP and CFO
Conference Call Participants
Chris Parkinson - Wolfe Research
Phil Ng - Jefferies
George Staphos - Bank of America
Bryan Bergmeyer - Citi
Ghansham Panjabi - Baird
Arun Viswanathan - RBC Capital Markets
Mike Leithead - Barclays
Adam Samuelson - Goldman Sachs
Jeff Zekauskas - JPMorgan
Stefan Diaz - Morgan Stanley
Gabe Hajde - Wells Fargo Securities
Mike Roxland - Truist Securities
Edlain Rodriguez - Mizuho
Operator
Good morning and welcome to Crown Holdings Second Quarter 2024 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] 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, Al, and good morning. With me on today's call is Tim Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer. If you do not 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 SEC filings, including our Form 10-K for 2023 and subsequent filings.
Earnings for the quarter were $1.45 per diluted share compared to $1.31 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. Adjusted earnings per diluted share were $1.81 compared to $1.68 in the prior year quarter. Net sales in the quarter were $3 billion compared to $3.1 billion in the prior year, reflecting a 6% increase in global beverage can volumes with North America up 9%, offset by $94 million from the pass through of lower raw material costs.
Segment income was $437 million in the quarter compared to $414 million in the prior year, reflecting improved results in global beverage. Free cash flow in the first six months was $178 million, a record amount through the first six months, driven by strong operational performance, reduced capital spending and tightly managed working capital. The balance sheet strengthened further in the quarter, with net leverage at 3.2 times compared to 4.0 times in the same period in the prior year.
In June, KPS Capital Partners agreed to sell Eviosys. We expect proceeds of approximately $300 million net of tax from our 20% interest in Eviosys. As stated in the earnings release, third quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share are projected to be in the range of $1.75 to $1.85 with full-year guidance of $6 to $6.25 per share, an increase from our previous guidance of $5.80 to $6.20 per diluted share.