WESTMINSTER, Colo., May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) today reported, on a U.S. GAAP basis, first quarter 2021 net earnings attributable to the corporation of $200 million (including net after-tax charges of $40 million, or 12 cents per diluted share for business consolidation and other non-comparable items), or 60 cents per diluted share, on sales of $3.1 billion, compared to $23 million net earnings attributable to the corporation, or 7 cents per diluted share (including net after-tax charges of $179 million, or 54 cents per diluted share for business consolidation and other non-comparable items), on sales of $2.8 billion in 2020. Ball s first quarter 2021 comparable net earnings were $240 million, or 72 cents per diluted share, compared to $202 million, or 61 cents per diluted share in 2020.
Operator
Greetings and welcome to the Ball Corporation Fourth Quarter 2020 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded, Thursday, February 4, 2021.
I would now like to turn the conference over to John Hayes, CEO. Please go ahead.
John A. Hayes
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Great, thank you, Dmitra and good morning everyone. This is Ball Corporation s conference call regarding the company s fourth quarter and full year 2020 results. The information provided during this call will contain forward-looking statements, actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied. Some factors that could cause the results or outcomes to differ are in the company s latest 10-K and in other company SEC filings, as well as company news releases. If you don t already have our earnings release, it s available on our website at ball.com. Information regarding the use of non-GAAP financial measures may also
Ball Reports Strong 2020 Results
Highlights
- Full-year and fourth quarter U.S. GAAP earnings per diluted share of $1.76 and 68 cents, respectively
- Full-year and fourth quarter comparable earnings per diluted share of $2.97 and 81 cents, respectively; up 17% and 14% year-over-year, respectively
- Full-year and fourth quarter global beverage can volumes up 5% and 12%, respectively
- Aerospace contracted backlog of $2.4 billion; year-over-year unfunded backlog increased 30% to $5.5 billion
- Launched industry-leading framework to advance circular economy for Ball operations and aluminum packaging
- Hired over 3,000 employees to support long-term aluminum packaging and aerospace business growth
- Strong balance sheet, liquidity and cash from operations enabled over $1.1 billion of growth capital investments