Sonoco's net sales for the 2Q 2021 were $1.38 billion, up 11% from last year's 2Q sales of $1.25 billion. Gross profit was $262.7 million in the 2Q 2021 compared to $248.0 million in the same period in 2020. Quarterly gross profit as a percentage of sales declined 92 basis points year over year to 19%.
Howard Coker, President and CEO, said, "As anticipated, we reported a GAAP loss in the 2Q due to pension settlement charges associated with the purchase of group annuity contracts and the distribution of lump-sum payments, which resulted in our pension obligations being reduced by approximately $1.4 billion. Also during the quarter, we further improved our strong balance sheet by reducing total debt by approximately $100 million, enhanced our financial flexibility by upsizing our committed credit facility with a new $750 million revolver, and returned value to shareholders by executing a $150 million accelerated share repurchase agreement.”
For the first six months of 2021, net sales were $2.74 billion, up $187.3 million, compared with $2.55 billion in the first six months of 2020. Sales improved 7.3% in the first half of the year as an almost 6% improvement in volume/mix, excluding the impact of the display and packaging divestiture, reflected demand recovery following prior-year COVID-19-driven reductions, along with higher selling prices implemented to offset inflation, and a positive impact from foreign exchange translation more than offset sales reduced by divestitures, net of acquisitions.
Current year-to-date gross profit was $540.6 million, compared with $514.6 million in 2020. Year-to-date gross profit as a percentage of sales in 2021 was 19.8%, compared with 20.2% in 2020.
Founded in 1899, Sonoco is a global provider of consumer, industrial, healthcare and protective packaging.
