Owens-Illinois (O-I), an Ohio-based maker of glass bottles for beverages, has reported net sales of $1.7bn for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 compared to $1.8bn for the same quarter last year.
Operating profit for the quarter was $287m, compared to $292m for the previous year quarter. Net earnings for the quarter were $141.1m or $0.85 diluted per share, compared to $149.3m or $0.88 per diluted share in the prior year quarter.
The company said that operating profit got benefitted from higher price and product mix, which added 1.3% to sales compared to the prior year and more than offset cost inflation of $18m in the quarter. Global shipments in tonnes were down 1.8% from the prior year.
Al Stroucken, chairman and CEO of O-I, said: The economic recovery accelerated in South America and China, driving stronger glass container demand in those regions. At the same time, the pace of improvement was inconsistent across North America and Europe as beer demand remained sluggish.
“We maintained higher selling prices, offsetting modest cost inflation. In addition, we expanded our presence in fast-growing markets through our acquisition of a plant in China and through our new Southeast Asia joint venture operating in Malaysia and Vietnam.