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EX - 99.1 2 a52423221ex99 1.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 Exhibit 99.1 WestRock Reports Fiscal 2021 Second Quarter Results and Increase in Quarterly Dividend ATLANTA -- ( BUSINESS WIRE ) -- May 5 , 2021 -- WestRock Company ( NYSE : WRK ) , a leading provider of differentiated paper and packaging solutions , today announced results for its fiscal second quarter ended March 31 , 2021 . Notable items include : • • • • Record second quarter North American per day box shipments up 5.5 % compared to the prior year quarter Successfully implementing published PPW price increases across all major paper grades Quarterly dividend of $ 0.24 per share declared by Board of Directors , an increase of $ 0.04 per share , or 20 % , as separately announced Net sales of $ 4.4 billion , flat to the prior year quarter despite $ 189 million of lost sales due to the impact of the ransomware incident and winter weather ( " the Events " ) • Earned $ 0.42 per diluted share and $ 0.54 of Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share • The lost sales and operational disruption from the Events had a negative impact of $ 80 million pre - tax , or $ 0.23 per share , on both earnings per diluted share and Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share " WestRock has a broad portfolio of differentiated products that uniquely positions us to serve our customers and the growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions . We have made a remarkable recovery from the incidents in the second quarter , and I want to thank our teammates for their dedication to our company and our customers , " said David B. Sewell , chief executive officer . " With these events behind us , we are confident in our business and our ability to generate strong cash flow , which is evident by our dividend increase announced today . I look forward to what's ahead for our company . " Consolidated Financial Results During the second quarter of fiscal 2021 , we lost approximately 167,000 tons of containerboard and paperboard production due to the Events . The impact on net sales and segment income from the lost sales and operational disruption during the quarter was $ 189 million and $ 80 million , respectively . We also incurred approximately $ 20 million of ransomware recovery costs , primarily professional fees , that were added back to Adjusted Earnings Per Diluted Share and Adjusted Segment EBITDA . We expect to recover the ransomware losses from cyber and business interruption insurance in future periods .