Greif Reports First Quarter 2022 Results

DELAWARE, Ohio (March 2, 2022) – Greif, Inc. (NYSE: GEF, GEF.B), a global leader in industrial packaging products and services, today announced first quarter 2022 results.

First Quarter Financial Highlights include (all results compared to the first quarter of 2021 unless otherwise noted):

• Net income of $10.3 million or $0.18 per diluted Class A share decreased compared to net income of $23.4 million or $0.40 per diluted Class A share. Net income, excluding the impact of adjustments⁽¹⁾, of $75.6 million or $1.28 per diluted Class A share increased compared to net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $35.9 million or $0.61 per diluted Class A share.
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ of $196.8 million, an increase of $58.3 million compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $138.5 million.
• Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $10.9 million to $22.4 million. Adjusted free cash flow⁽³⁾ decreased by $7.3 million to a use of $18.8 million.
• Total debt decreased by $242.6 million to $2,296.8 million. Net debt⁽⁴⁾ decreased by $260.9 million to $2,177.1 million. The Company’s leverage ratio⁽⁵⁾ decreased to 2.39x from 3.79x and from 2.49x at year-end.
  

Strategic Actions and Announcements

• Completed our planned Chief Executive Officer transition and announced new executive leadership team
• Announced a definitive agreement to divest our 50% equity interest in the Flexible Products & Services joint venture to Gulf Refined Packaging (“the FPS Divestiture”) for $123 million, subject to post-closing adjustments.  The transaction is expected to close by March 31, 2022
• Redeemed our $500 million 6.5% 2027 senior notes on March 1 with proceeds from our refinanced credit facilities, which were expanded and extended for an additional 5 years and include an ESG-linked feature that ties our borrowing cost to Greif’s EcoVadis rating. The net result is a reduction in Greif’s anticipated annual interest expense of approximately $15 million
• Received a gold medal rating for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance from EcoVadis, a multinational CSR ratings agency, for the fourth year in a row
• Announced that Investor Day 2022 will be held on June 23, 2022 in New York City
  

CEO Commentary

“Our team delivered an outstanding first quarter,” said Ole Rosgaard, Greif’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Through disciplined operational execution and a sharp focus on the areas within our control, we generated record financial results while navigating the still challenging and volatile operating environment. In addition, we solidified our leverage position and announced the agreement to sell our 50% ownership stake in Flexible Products and Services business for outstanding value. Looking ahead, we are increasing our Fiscal 2022 guidance based on our strong start and positive outlook for the remainder of the year.”

1. Adjustments that are excluded from net income before adjustments and from earnings per diluted Class A share before adjustments are restructuring charges, integration related costs, non-cash asset impairment charges, non-cash pension settlement charges, incremental COVID-19 costs, net, (gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net.
   
2. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income, plus interest expense, net, plus income tax expense, plus depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, plus restructuring charges, plus integration related costs, plus non-cash asset impairment charges, plus non-cash pension settlement charges, plus incremental COVID-19 costs, net, plus (gain) loss on disposal of properties, plants, equipment and businesses, net.
   
3. Adjusted free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, less cash paid for purchases of properties, plants and equipment, plus cash paid for integration related costs, plus cash paid for incremental COVID-19 costs, net, plus cash paid for integration related Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.
   
4. Net debt is defined as total debt less cash and cash equivalents.
   
5. Leverage ratio for the periods indicated is defined as net debt divided by trailing twelve month EBITDA, each as calculated under the terms of the Company’s Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of February 11, 2019, filed as Exhibit 10.1 on Form 8-K/A on March 26, 2020 (the “2019 Credit Agreement”).

Note: A reconciliation of the differences between all non-GAAP financial measures used in this release with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included in the financial schedules that are a part of this release. These non-GAAP financial measures are intended to supplement and should be read together with our financial results. They should not be considered an alternative or substitute for, and should not be considered superior to, our reported financial results. Accordingly, users of this financial information should not place undue reliance on these non-GAAP financial measures.