Greif starts the year well

GOOD TO GO

RESULTS • GREIF HAS STARTED 2021 WELL, REPORTING RISING DEMAND FOR INDUSTRIAL PACKAGINGS AND IBCS IN PARTICULAR, ALONG WITH AN EXPANDED FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY

GREIF HAS REPORTED net income of $149.8m for its second fiscal quarter, to the end of March 2021, boosted by a significant book gain on the sale of a large tract of woodland; on an adjusted basis, net income rose by 19 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier, although adjusted EBITDA was down by $4.7m at $176.6m.

“Greif delivered a strong second quarter, with solid results across the company and meaningful progress against our strategy,” says Pete Watson, Greif’s president and CEO. “In addition to strong underlying business performance that drove improved earnings and free cash flow, we enhanced colleague engagement and customer service levels, advanced our commitment to sustainability

GREIF IS MAKING GREAT STRIDES IN IMPROVING ITS and achieved a notable reduction in our leverage.” Looking ahead, Watson says Greif is now “well positioned to benefit from a growing global economy”.

One notable feature of the quarter was production of intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), which reached record volumes in response to strong market demand.

In Greif’s global industrial packaging segment, which combines the former Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services and Flexible Products & Services segments, net sales rose by $128.0m to $798.0m, primarily in response to higher volumes as well as higher average sale prices, taking account of increased raw material costs. Gross profit and adjusted EBITDA were also well up.

RECYCLED IN RUSSIA In other news, Greif has begun manufacturing GCube EcoBalance™ IBCs at its plant in Kaluga, Russia. The reconditioned IBCs feature a new bottle with a virgin HDPE inner layer and an outer layer made from a mix of virgin HDPE and post-consumer resin (PCR) derived from recycled used IBCs from a partner facility. GCube EcoBalance IBCs have been made in Italy since late 2019 and the production at Kaluga is the second such line; Greif is now planning to produce them in Germany and Spain and further expansions are being lined up elsewhere in the world.

“This was a very rewarding project for the Greif Russia team, and we are pleased that this product is now commercially available in our region,” says Konstantin Chetverikov, quality and technology manager for IBCs at Greif Russia. “Being able to generate our own source of PCR from IBC bottles that might otherwise end up in landfill means we can support customers in achieving their sustainability goals by decreasing raw material consumption and reducing CO2 emission into the atmosphere. It is also a significant step towards advancing our own circular economy principles.”

The GCube EcoBalance IBC is part of a broader EcoBalance line that includes plastics drums and other containers made using PCR. These products help support many of Greif’s customers – and Greif itself – in achieving their sustainability goals, including reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption and diverting waste from landfill. www.greif.com