02.01.16
WestRock Company announced results for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2015. Due to the $478 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge associated with the Specialty Chemicals segment, WestRock recorded a loss of $1.76 per diluted share and adjusted earnings of $0.59 per diluted share.
Net sales for WestRock for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, were $3.68 billion and segment income was $279 million. Adjusted segment income was $284 million, excluding the pre-tax impact of expensing $5 million of inventory that was stepped-up to fair value in purchase accounting, net of related LIFO.
“We continued to make excellent progress toward building the premier global packaging company that we envisioned when we announced the strategic combination of RockTenn and MeadWestvaco just one year ago,” said Steve Voorhees, CEO of WestRock.
“This quarter we delivered strong cash flows and made strategic investments to position our business for growth, while maintaining our disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy,” Voorghees added. “WestRock is realizing the strategic benefits of the merger, having already achieved an annual run rate of over $250 million of synergies and performance improvements, and we remain on track to meet our $1 billion objective by the end of fiscal 2018.”
The company re-assessed the valuation of the Specialty Chemicals business in light of changing market conditions and lower comparative market valuations for companies in their peer group, and reduced the estimated enterprise value to approximately $1.6 billion. As a result, the Company recorded a pre-tax and after-tax goodwill impairment charge of $478 million. WestRock is continuing with the spin of Ingevity, and anticipates completion by early May, later than previously announced due to the inherent complexities of the separation process.
Net sales for WestRock for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, were $3.68 billion and segment income was $279 million. Adjusted segment income was $284 million, excluding the pre-tax impact of expensing $5 million of inventory that was stepped-up to fair value in purchase accounting, net of related LIFO.
“We continued to make excellent progress toward building the premier global packaging company that we envisioned when we announced the strategic combination of RockTenn and MeadWestvaco just one year ago,” said Steve Voorhees, CEO of WestRock.
“This quarter we delivered strong cash flows and made strategic investments to position our business for growth, while maintaining our disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy,” Voorghees added. “WestRock is realizing the strategic benefits of the merger, having already achieved an annual run rate of over $250 million of synergies and performance improvements, and we remain on track to meet our $1 billion objective by the end of fiscal 2018.”
The company re-assessed the valuation of the Specialty Chemicals business in light of changing market conditions and lower comparative market valuations for companies in their peer group, and reduced the estimated enterprise value to approximately $1.6 billion. As a result, the Company recorded a pre-tax and after-tax goodwill impairment charge of $478 million. WestRock is continuing with the spin of Ingevity, and anticipates completion by early May, later than previously announced due to the inherent complexities of the separation process.