Ardagh Group S.A. (NYSE: ARD) today announced its results for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 December 2018. Paul Coulson, Chairman and Chief Executive, said “Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA increased in the quarter, despite an adverse currency headwind, with volume growth in three of our four divisions. Metal packaging performed well in the quarter, with Adjusted EBITDA growth of 12% and notable strength in beverage can demand during both the quarter and full year. Glass packaging in Europe delivered another strong performance in 2018, with broad-based volume growth. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter increased by 5% and market conditions are positive. In Glass North America, our ongoing initiatives to improve financial performance are proceeding as planned.”
Revenue increased by 6% to $9.1 billion for the full year, with constant currency growth of 3%;
Adjusted EBITDA for the full year of 1,478 million USD (2017: 1,508 million USD);
Loss per share of 0.40 USD for the year, with Adjusted earnings per share of 1.69 USD (2017: 1.84 USD);
Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 4% for the fourth quarter at constant currency;
Volume/mix growth of 1% for the full year and 2% for the fourth quarter;
Global beverage can volume growth of 8% for the quarter and 5% for the year;
Glass packaging volume/mix growth of 2% in Europe for the quarter, offset by a 3% decline in North America;
Beverage can strategic projects completed on plan; short payback project spending of 65 million USD in 2018;
Adjusted free cash flow of 441 million USD in 2018 3;
Leverage reduced to 5.0x in December 2018, with no maturities before late-2022;
2019 outlook: Full year Adjusted EBITDA of at least 1.5 billion USD, with Adjusted free cash flow of approximately 450 million USD and Adjusted earnings per share of 1.60 – 1.75 USD First quarter Adjusted EBITDA of approximately 350 million USD.