Ardagh Group’s adjusted EBITDA stands at $178 million in Q2 2024; Global beverage can shipments up by 3%

Ardagh Group, a global supplier of infinitely recyclable metal and glass packaging for the world’s leading brands, announced its results for the second quarter (Q2) ended June 30, 2024. Revenue for the three months ending June 30, 2024, rose by $4 million to $1,259 million, up from $1,255 million in the same period of 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA also saw an increase, rising by $27 million to $178 million for the same period, up from $151 million the previous year. On a constant currency basis, Adjusted EBITDA grew by 18 per cent, driven by higher recovery of input costs and favourable volume/mix effects. This increase was somewhat offset by higher operating costs.

When adjusted for constant currency, revenue remained steady compared to the prior year. This stability is mainly due to the passthrough of lower input costs to customers, which balanced out the positive impact of favourable volume and mix effects.

Global beverage cans shipment

Global beverage can shipments increased by 3 per cent this quarter, with notable growth of 5 per cent in Europe and 1 per cent in the Americas. North America saw a 3 per cent rise, compared to a robust performance in the same period last year, driven by new contracted volumes. In Brazil, volumes were affected by temporary customer mix changes during the off-season, although the overall industry outlook remains positive.

Oliver Graham, CEO of Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP), said, “Our strong earnings performance, reflected in double-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth in both regions, delivered a second successive outperformance against our quarterly guidance. Volume growth, strong input cost recovery and lower plant operating costs drove sequentially improved Adjusted EBITDA growth. Strong performance in Europe underpinned our outperformance in the quarter and continued growth in the region gives us the confidence to improve our guidance range for Adjusted EBITDA growth in 2024.”

For America

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, revenue decreased by $7 million, or 1 per cent, to $693 million, compared to $700 million for the same period in 2023. This decline was primarily due to the passthrough of lower input costs to customers, although it was partly offset by favourable volume and mix effects. Adjusted EBITDA, however, rose by $12 million, or 14 per cent, reaching $99 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, up from $87 million in the prior year.

For Europe

Adjusted EBITDA rose by $15 million, reaching $79 million for the three months ended June 30, 2024, compared to $64 million in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, Adjusted EBITDA increased by 23 per cent, mainly due to higher recovery of input costs and favourable volume and mix effects, despite higher operating costs.

For the three months ended June 30, 2024, revenue increased by $11 million, or 2 per cent, to $566 million, up from $555 million in the same period of 2023. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew by 1 per cent, driven primarily by favourable volume and mix effects, though this was partially offset by the passthrough of lower input costs to customers.

Other significant achievements

AMP has secured a new financing commitment of $300 million from Apollo. This strategic financing will enhance the company’s liquidity for the second half of the year and also complement AMP’s anticipated seasonal cash inflows. The company is also expecting that the new financing may have a neutral impact on its net leverage.