BROOMFIELD, Colo., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) today reported, on a U.S. GAAP basis, full-year 2017 net earnings attributable to the corporation of $399 million (including the net effect of after-tax charges of $329 million, or 92 cents per diluted share for the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, business consolidation and other non-comparable costs) or $1.12 per diluted share, on sales of $11.0 billion, compared to $263 million attributable to the corporation, or 81 cents per diluted share (including the net effect of after-tax charges of $300 million, or 93 cents per diluted share for business consolidation, debt refinancing and other non-comparable costs), on sales of $9.1 billion in 2016. Ball's 2017 comparable net earnings were $728 million, or $2.04 per diluted share, compared to $563 million, or $1.74 per diluted share in 2016.

Fourth quarter 2017 net earnings attributable to Ball Corporation, on a U.S. GAAP basis, were $184 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, on sales of $2.75 billion, compared to $52 million, or 15 cents per diluted share, on sales of $2.5 billion, in the fourth quarter of 2016. Ball's fourth quarter 2017 comparable net earnings were $213 million, or 60 cents per diluted share, compared to $155 million, or 44 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Earnings per share figures include the impact of the company's two-for-one stock split effective May 16, 2017. The historical 2016 comparable operating results prior to June 30, 2016, exclude the effects of the Rexam transaction. Details of comparable segment earnings, business consolidation activities and other non-comparable costs, impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and catch-up depreciation entries for the last six months of 2016 and recorded in 2017 related to the finalization of the fair values for the June 30, 2016, Rexam acquisition can be found in the notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements that accompany this news release.

"Ball Corporation finished the year strong, with continued improved performance across each of our segments. In our global beverage can business, overall volumes were up approximately 2.5 percent in the quarter, driven by continued strong performance in our South American beverage can business, a rebound in our North American beverage operations following the hurricane disruptions experienced in the third quarter, and our European beverage can business continued to execute its margin-enhancing strategy. In addition, our food and aerosol segment was up year-over-year in the quarter driven by the mid-single digit increase in global aluminum aerosol volumes and better than expected tinplate packaging volumes, while our aerospace team achieved record contracted backlog levels at year-end," said John A. Hayes, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

"We are poised to execute on numerous growth capital and network optimization projects to enhance our customers' access to our innovative specialty container portfolio while also expanding the company's U.S. aerospace infrastructure. With our businesses operating from a position of strength, we continue to drive toward our financial goals of $2 billion of comparable EBITDA and in excess of $1 billion of free cash flow in 2019."

Beverage Packaging, North and Central America
Beverage packaging, North and Central America, comparable segment operating earnings for the full-year 2017 were $533 million on sales of $4.2 billion, compared to $469 million on sales of $3.6 billion in 2016. Segment operating earnings in the fourth quarter were $133 million on sales of $998 million, compared to $114 million on sales of $959 million in the fourth quarter 2016.

Year-over-year results reflect low-single digit segment volume growth following continued growth in Mexican beer imports, increasing demand for differentiated specialty can sizes for carbonated soft drinks and development in other non-alcoholic beverage categories offset by declines in domestic mass beer consumption in 2017.

During the quarter, cost savings from the previously disclosed Reidsville, North Carolina, plant rationalization and an improved operating environment in the southern U.S., as well as continued growth in Mexican volumes were offset by a decline in domestic beer consumption. Overall beverage can segment volumes for the quarter were flat. The construction of a state-of-the-art specialty beverage can manufacturing facility in Goodyear, Arizona, is on schedule and on budget with production beginning early in the second half of 2018.

Beverage Packaging, South America
Beverage packaging, South America, comparable segment operating earnings for the full-year 2017 were $333 million on sales of $1.7 billion, compared to $185 million on sales of $1 billion during 2016. Segment operating earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $128 million on sales of $547 million compared to $85 million on sales of $437 million in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Year-over-year and fourth quarter segment volumes were up high single-digits and mid-teens, respectively. Overall beer consumption trends improved in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the packaging mix shift from two-way glass to beverage cans continued throughout 2017 across South America. The company recently announced plans to construct a beverage can plant in Paraguay to support contracted volumes for the growing demand for infinitely recyclable, environmentally friendly aluminum beverage packaging across Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia. Ball also benefitted from third-party end sales as part of the Rexam acquisition and concurrent divestment of certain Brazilian assets. The ends manufacturing production will transition to the divested business in the first half of 2018.

Beverage Packaging, Europe
Beverage packaging, Europe, comparable segment operating earnings for full-year 2017 were $233 million on sales of $2.4 billion, compared to $217 million on sales of $1.9 billion in 2016. Comparable segment operating earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $49 million on sales of $536 million, compared to $32 million on sales of $456 million in 2016. Comparable full-year and fourth quarter 2017 segment operating earnings included the net effect of the June 30, 2016, Rexam transaction and approximately $32 million and $8 million of incremental year-over-year depreciation expense, respectively, related to the final acquisition accounting completed on June 30, 2017.

Comparable segment earnings for the fourth quarter of 2017 reflect ongoing operational efficiencies related to optimizing our plant network. Segment demand was up low-single digits in the quarter led by favorable demand trends, particularly in Russia and the Iberian Peninsula. Construction continues on the company's new Madrid, Spain, aluminum beverage can facility, which is scheduled to start production in mid-2018.

Food and Aerosol Packaging
Food and aerosol packaging comparable segment operating earnings for the full-year 2017 were $102 million on sales of $1.1 billion, compared to $109 million on sales of $1.2 billion during 2016. Segment operating earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $26 million on sales of $271 million compared to $24 million on sales of $259 million in 2016.

During the fourth quarter, the segment benefitted from mid-single digit volume growth in our global aluminum aerosol business, improved manufacturing performance across our U.S. tinplate packaging business and stronger than anticipated U.S. food can volume demand due to customers carrying more inventory into 2018. Full-year and fourth quarter 2017 results also include the absence of sales and earnings from the Baltimore, Maryland, and Hubbard, Ohio, facilities, which were sold in late 2016 and early 2017, respectively.

Aerospace
Aerospace comparable segment operating earnings for full-year 2017 were $98 million on sales of $991 million, compared to $88 million on sales of $818 million during 2016. Comparable segment operating earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $28 million on sales of $257 million compared to $26 million on sales of $241 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. The ramp up of new contracts and the mix of more cost-plus versus fixed-price contracts influenced year-over-year margins.

The aerospace segment finished 2017 with record contracted backlog of $1.75 billion and hired in excess of 400 employees in the U.S. during the year. Colorado facility expansions in Westminster and Boulder, Colorado, are on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2018 and the business anticipates hiring at least 450 additional U.S. employees by the end of 2018. Outstanding requests for bids and proposals remain high and contracts already won, but not yet booked into current backlog, remain at record levels. Momentum in our aerospace segment supports recent capital deployment and further segment earnings improvement in 2018 and beyond.

Outlook
"Our 2017 free cash flow exceeded $920 million supported by approximately $325 million in year-over-year working capital reductions. The company's EVA discipline and relentless attention on our balance sheet will result in multi-year returns of value to shareholders in 2018 and beyond. Year-end net debt of $6.5 billion was nearly $400 million lower versus last year despite $275 million of higher year-over-year foreign exchange rates on our foreign currency-denominated debt, pension funding of approximately $200 million, and $205 million of combined share repurchases and dividends. In 2018, our free cash flow is estimated to be in the range of $900 million after capital spending of at least $600 million, and our initial estimates are to return approximately $500 million to shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends," said Scott C. Morrison, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

"Our company finished the year very strong and we were in line with or above the financial goals we set out for the newly combined business in mid-2016. Aluminum packaging continues to be consumers' package of choice. We are encouraged by the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's potential to stimulate the U.S. middle class, which should benefit our end markets, and we estimate the Act will lower our global effective tax rate on comparable earnings from approximately 25 percent in 2017 to approximately 23 percent in 2018. As we look forward, our synergy capture plans remain on track and we expect to make continued progress in 2018 as we drive toward our 2019 goals of $2 billion of comparable EBITDA and in excess of $1 billion of free cash flow," Hayes said.

About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2017 net sales of $11 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Conference Call Details
Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) will hold its fourth quarter 2017 earnings call today at 9 a.m. Mountain time (11 a.m. Eastern). The North American toll-free number for the call is 800-741-4871. International callers should dial 303-223-0113. Please use the following URL for a webcast of the live call:

https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/24gein33

For those unable to listen to the live call, a taped replay will be available from 11 a.m. Mountain time on Feb. 7, 2018, until 11 a.m. Mountain time on Feb. 14, 2018. To access the replay, call 800-633-8284 (North American callers) or 402-977-9140 (international callers) and use reservation number 21877814. A written transcript of the call will be posted within 48 hours of the call's conclusion to Ball's website at www.ball.com/investors under "news and presentations."

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any of such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; competitive activity; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; and changes in foreign exchange or tax rates, including due to the effects of the 2017 U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including the U.S. government elections, budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; ability to achieve cost-out initiatives and synergies; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful acquisitions and divestitures, including with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition and its integration, or the associated divestiture; the effect of the acquisition or the divestiture on our business relationships, operating results and business generally.