WestRock (WRK) Earnings Beat, Sales Miss Estimates In Q2

WestRock Company (NYSE:WRK) delivered second-quarter fiscal 2019 (ended Mar 31, 2019) adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 63 cents. However, the reported figure declined 3.6% from the 83 cents earned in the prior-year quarter.

Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share of 62 cents in the reported quarter compared with the prior-year quarter’s 86 cents.

Operational Update

WestRock’s total revenues jumped 15% year over year to $4,620 million. However, the top-line figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,652 million.

The year-over-year improvement in total sales primarily stemmed from the increased sales in Corrugated Packaging segment, aided by the KapStone acquisition, higher selling price/mix and strength in the North American container business. However, the absence of recycling sales in the current-year quarter, lower containerboard volumes and unfavorable foreign currency impact offset sales to some extent.

Cost of sales increased 15.2%, year over year, to $3,720.4 million in the fiscal second quarter. Gross profit climbed 14% year over year to $900 million. Gross margin came in at 19.5% compared to the 19.6% recorded in the prior-year period. Adjusted segment EBITDA was $757 million compared with $649 million reported in the prior-year quarter.

Total segment income came in at $396 million, up from $373 million witnessed in the year-ago quarter. This upside was backed by increase in Corrugated Packaging segment income, along with decline in both Land and Development and Consumer Packaging segments’ income.

WestRock Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Segment Performance

Corrugated Packaging: Sales in the segment improved 25% year over year to $2,990.7 million in the reported quarter. Adjusted segment EBITDA jumped 24.4% year over year to $553 million. Segment income came in at $310.3 million in the quarter, reflecting year-over-year increase of 18%.

Consumer Packaging: Sales in this segment were up 2% to $1,668.3 million from the year-ago quarter. Adjusted segment EBITDA was up 1.4% year over year to $225.6 million. Segment income was $85.2 million in the March-end quarter compared with the prior-year quarter’s $94.6 million.

Land and Development: The segment’s sales came in at around $0.8 million compared with $26.7 million posted in the year-earlier quarter. The segment income was $0.5 million in the fiscal second quarter 2019 compared with $16.2 million witnessed in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

As of Mar 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents were $154.2 million, significantly down from $636.8 million as of Sep 30, 2018. As of quarter end, total debt was $10.8 billion, up from $6.4 billion as of Sep 30, 2018. Cash flow from operations came in at $362 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 compared with $228 million recorded in the prior-year quarter.

During the January-March quarter, WestRock received $60 million of insurance proceeds related to the Panama City mill. Moreover, WestRock invested $303 million in capital expenditures, paid $118 million in dividends and returned $44 million to stockholders through stock repurchases during the fiscal second quarter.

On Nov 2, 2018, WestRock completed the acquisition of rival KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation. The company anticipates to achieve approximately $200 million in synergies and performance improvements by the end of fiscal 2021 through the integration of the former KapStone operations into WestRock’s corrugated business.

The company achieved $70 million of run-rate synergies toward the $200-million target for the KapStone acquisition. WestRock also focuses on productivity, operational excellence as well as debt reduction, while returning cash to shareholders.

Shares of WestRock have declined 39.1% over the past year compared with the industry’s loss of 29.7%.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

WestRock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) , Arconic Inc. (NYSE:ARNC) and Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ARCH) . While Sandstorm Gold sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Arconic and Arch Coal carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Sandstorm Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 189% for 2019. The company’s shares have gained 13.6% in the past year.

Arconic has a projected earnings growth rate of 3.5% for the current year. The company’s shares have appreciated 16.2% in a year’s time.

Arch Coal has an estimated earnings growth rate of 5.49% for 2019. Its shares have rallied 23.3% over the past year.

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