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[ R SONOCO Sonoco Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results October 21 , 2021 HARTSVILLE , S.C. , Oct. 21 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Sonoco ( NYSE : SON ) , one of the largest diversified global packaging companies , today reported financial results for its third quarter ended October 3 , 2021 . Third Quarter Highlights • Third quarter 2021 GAAP earnings per diluted share were $ 1.12 , compared with $ 0.82 in 2020 . • Third quarter 2021 GAAP earnings included a net after - tax benefit of $ 20.6 million , or $ 0.21 per diluted share , primarily related to a $ 0.30 per diluted share non - base income tax benefit , which more than offset restructuring - related charges and other non - base items . In the third quarter of 2020 , GAAP earnings included net after - tax charges of $ 3.6 million related mostly to restructuring actions and non - operating pension costs which were largely offset by a tax benefit related to the divestiture of the Company's European contract packaging business which was consummated in November 2020 . • Base net income attributable to Sonoco ( base earnings ) for third quarter 2021 was $ 0.91 per diluted share , compared with $ 0.86 in 2020. ( See base earnings definition , explanation and reconciliation to GAAP earnings later in this release . ) Sonoco previously provided third quarter 2021 base earnings guidance of $ 0.87 to $ 0.93 per diluted share . • Third quarter 2021 net sales were a record $ 1.42 billion , compared with $ 1.31 billion in 2020 . • Cash flow from operations was $ 220.1 million in the first nine months of 2021 , compared to $ 489.5 million in the same period of 2020. Free cash flow was $ 74.0 million in the first nine months of 2021 , compared with $ 381.1 million in the same period of 2020. Free cash flow for the first nine months of 2021 included pension contributions totaling $ 133 million made as part of the final settlement of the Company's Inactive Plan's liabilities . ( See free cash flow definition and reconciliation to cash flow from operations later in this release . ) 2021 Fourth Quarter and Full - Year Guidance • Sonoco expects fourth quarter base earnings per diluted share to be in a range of $ 0.84 to $ 0.90 and full - year base earnings per diluted share to be in a range of $ 3.49 to $ 3.55 . Fourth quarter and full - year base earnings per diluted share in 2020 were $ 0.82 and $ 3.41 , respectively . • Full - year 2021 cash provided from operations is updated to be in a range of $ 520 million to $ 550 million while free cash flow guidance remains unchanged at $ 270 million to $ 300 million . This guidance excludes $ 133 million of pension contributions made in the second quarter of 2021 to the Company's Inactive Plan . Note : Fourth - 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 performance , Howard Coker , President and Chief Executive Officer , said , " We were pleased with the improved top - line and bottom - line results delivered in the third quarter as our Sonoco team skillfully navigated through supply chain disruptions , raw material shortages and unrelenting inflation to meet the critical needs of our customers . " Net sales reached a record level , growing almost 8 percent over the prior - year quarter , as volume / mix improved almost 4 percent as solid customer demand in each of our business segments overcame supply chain challenges . Overall , 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 business . In addition , our base earnings benefited from certain tax items that were slightly above our expectations . " Operating profit in our Consumer Packaging segment declined 5.4 percent in the quarter as strong productivity improvements were more than offset by a negative price / cost relationship stemming from rising resin , film , metals , packaging , freight , and labor costs . Our Industrial Paper Packaging segment experienced a 30.0 percent improvement in operating profit due to strong demand and the associated positive leveraging impact on operations . Finally , our All Other group of businesses , which consists of industrial plastics , protective , healthcare and retail security packaging units , experienced a 67.5 percent decline in operating profit due mostly to the divestiture of the display and packaging business but also a negative price / cost relationship stemming primarily from higher resin prices . " Third Quarter Review Net sales for the third quarter of 2021 were $ 1.42 billion , up 7.8 percent from last year's third quarter sales of $ 1.31 billion . This growth was driven by an improvement in volume / mix and higher selling prices mostly implemented to offset inflation . These positive factors were partially offset by the