Sales reached $3.2 billion during the third quarter of 2023 ended June 30, due to lower selling prices and a 7% volume decline. Sales of health and hygiene materials decreased from $915 million to $738 million during the quarter. The decline is primarily attributed to decreased selling prices of $83 million and a 7% volume decline primarily attributed to weaker demand in specialty markets, such as filtration and building and construction, including destocking, partially offset by growth in disinfectant wipes.

Operating income also decreased is primarily attributed to a $20 million unfavorable impact from price cost spread, a $9 million unfavorable impact from increased business integration costs, and an unfavorable impact from the volume decline.

Berry’s Chairman and CEO Tom Salmon shared, “We continue to prioritize structural cost improvements, enhance operating efficiencies, and successfully shift our portfolio toward high-value growth products across all of our businesses. Our cost actions, including site rationalizations, moving business to more cost-efficient facilities, and labor cost reductions, have resulted in significant annualized cost savings of now $140 million.. We expect to realize $75 million in fiscal 2023, with the majority of the balance being realized in fiscal 2024. These internal initiatives have been instrumental in driving 3% growth in adjusted earnings per share in the face of a 7% volume decline caused by destocking and overall market softness. Moreover, we are dedicated to delivering long-term value for our shareholders, as evident by our repurchases in fiscal 2023 of $416 million, or another 5.6% of shares outstanding, alongside our quarterly dividend payments. Furthermore, and in line with this commitment, we expect to repurchase nearly 3 million shares, or 2.5% of our total shares outstanding, during our fourth fiscal quarter. Looking ahead, we expect a transition to a more normal operating environment with the easing of inflationary pressures on consumers, and we anticipate sequential volume growth improvement across all four segments in the fourth fiscal quarter.”