Monday, Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) reported an increase in net income for the fourth quarter attributable to alternative fuel mixture tax credits as well as to a decline in expenses and a significant increase in net other income.
Net income for the quarter increased to $58.7 million or $0.57 per share from $30.2 million or $0.30 per share in the year-ago period.
The company said that fourth quarter net income included $44 million or $0.42 per share from alternative fuel mixture tax credits, and after-tax non-cash charges of $1.2 million or $0.01 per share from asset disposals related to the announced major energy projects at the Counce and Valdosta mills.
Excluding income from alternative fuel mixture tax credits and the asset disposal expenses, net income was $16 million or $0.16 per share, compared to net income of $30 million or $0.30 per share a year back.
On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.13 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
According to the Lake Forest, Illinois-based company, net sales for the quarter declined to $532.2 million from $546.1 million a year-ago. Seven Wall Street analysts estimated a revenue of $510.01 million for the quarter.
Corrugated products shipments were up 8.3% and outside sales of containerboard were up 28,000 tons, or 29%, compared with last year's fourth quarter. Containerboard production was 600 thousand tons after taking 18 thousand tons of downtime related to pulpwood shortages and market conditions. The company ended 2009 with containerboard inventories on plan and about 6,000 tons above last year in anticipation of a mill outage at Valdosta in January related to the energy optimization project.
Cost of sales increased to $444.7 million from $432.1 million in the prior year period. Selling and administrative expenses increased to $43.1 million from $41.3 million, while corporate overhead declined to $12.5 million from $16.6 million a year-ago. Net other income during the quarter was $38.9 million, compared with other net other expenses of $4.3 million a year-ago.
For the fiscal year, net income increased to $265.9 million or $2.60 per share from $135.6 million or $1.31 per share in the prior year period. Year-to-date net sales declined to $2.14 billion from $2.36 billion a year-ago.
For the entire year, Street estimated earnings of $0.91 per share on revenues of $2.12 billion
The company currently estimates its first quarter earnings at about $0.12 per share. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.17 per share for the quarter.
PKG closed Monday's last trade at $21.54, up $0.30 or 1.41%, on a volume of 2 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. In the after hours the stock traded down $0.92 or 4.27%.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.