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O SONOCO Sonoco Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results July 22 , 2021 HARTSVILLE , S.C. , July 22 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) --Sono co ( NYSE : SON ) , one of the largest diversified global packaging companies , today reported financial results for its second quarter ended July 4 , 2021 . Second Quarter Highlights • Second quarter 2021 GAAP net loss per diluted share was $ ( 3.34 ) , compared with earnings per diluted share of $ 0.55 in 2020 . • Second quarter 2021 GAAP net loss included net after - tax charges of $ 418.7 million , due mostly to a non - cash pension settlement charge of $ 406.5 million related to the Company's settlement of the outstanding pension liabilities of the Sonoco Pension Plan for Inactive Participants ( the " Inactive Plan " ) , and a $ 15.0 million expense related to the early extinguishment of debt . In the second quarter of 2020 , GAAP earnings included net after - tax charges of $ 24.9 million related mostly to restructuring actions and non - operating pension costs . • Base net income attributable to Sonoco ( base earnings ) for second quarter 2021 was $ 0.84 per diluted share , compared with $ 0.79 in 2020. ( See base earnings definition , explanation and reconciliation to GAAP earnings later in this release . ) Sonoco previously provided second quarter 2021 base earnings guidance of $ 0.82 to $ 0.88 per diluted share . • Second quarter 2021 net sales were $ 1.38 billion , compared with $ 1.25 billion in 2020 . • Cash flow from operations was $ 102.0 million in the first half of 2021 , compared to $ 282.0 million in the first half of 2020. Free cash flow was $ 9.4 million in the first half of 2021 , compared with $ 210.4 million in the first half of 2020 . Free cash flow for the first half of 2021 included pension contributions totaling $ 133 million made in the second quarter as part of the final settlement of the Inactive Plan's liabilities . ( See free cash flow definition and reconciliation to cash flow from operations later in this release . ) • On July 8 , 2021 , the Company committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent and scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 13.5 percent by 2030 in line with the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global temperatures to warming to well below 2 - degree C. These emission reduction goals were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative ( SBTi ) . 2021 Third Quarter and Full - Year Guidance • Sonoco expects third quarter base earnings per diluted share to be in a range of $ 0.87 to $ 0.93 and expects full - year base earnings per diluted share to be in a range of $ 3.50 to $ 3.60 . This full - year outlook is unchanged from previous guidance . Third quarter and full - year base earnings per diluted share in 2020 were $ 0.79 and $ 3.41 , respectively . Excluding the $ 133 million of cash contributions to the Inactive Plan , full - year 2021 cash provided from operations and free cash flow guidance remains unchanged in a range of $ 570 million to $ 600 million and $ 270 million to $ 300 million , respectively . ● Note : Third - quarter and full - year 2021 GAAP guidance is not provided in this release due to the likely occurrence of one or more of the following , the timing and magnitude of which we are unable to reliably forecast : restructuring costs and restructuring - related impairment charges , acquisition / divestiture - related costs , gains or losses on the sale of businesses or other assets , and the income tax effects of these items and / or other income tax - related events . These items could have a significant impact on the Company's future GAAP results . CEO Comments Commenting on the Company's second quarter performance , Howard Coker , President and Chief Executive Officer , said , " As anticipated , we reported a GAAP loss in the second quarter due to pension settlement charges associated with the purchase of group annuity contracts and the distribution of lump - sum payments , which resulted in our pension obligations being reduced by approximately $ 1.4 billion . Also during the quarter , we further improved our strong balance sheet by reducing total debt by approximately $ 100 million , enhanced our financial flexibility by upsizing our committed credit facility with a new $ 750 million revolver , and returned value to shareholders by executing a $ 150 million accelerated share repurchase agreement . " Sonoco's balanced mix of consumer and industrial packaging businesses achieved second quarter base earnings results which were well within our guidance range despite unprecedented raw material and non - material inflation and some continued impact of COVID - 19 on certain of our served markets . Net sales grew 11 percent in the quarter as volume / mix improved approximately 8 percent due to solid demand recovery in most of our industrial - related businesses . Base earnings benefited from volume / mix growth and productivity improvements , which more than offset a negative price / cost relationship and the impact from the divestiture of our former display and packaging businesses .