Amcor AMCR has sold its 50% stake in Bericap North America (“BCNA”) for $122 million. It plans to use the money to reduce debt.

BCNA, founded in 1997, is a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Amcor Rigid Packaging and Germany-based Bericap. It manufactures closures for the beverage, food and industrial end industries in three plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

While Amcor continues to operate in the closures market as a category of interest, it is committed to maintaining its conservative capital allocation approach. 

The JV’s total sales in fiscal 2024 were approximately $190 million, with adjusted EBIT of roughly $19 million. Both were previously fully consolidated under Amcor's Rigid Packaging business. Adjusted net income attributable to Amcor was roughly $8 million. 

The transaction is not expected to have an impact on Amcor's fiscal 2025 financial projection, except the resulting reduction in interest expense.

Amcor expects adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2025 to be 72-76 cents. The company projects an adjusted free cash flow of $900-$1,000 million for fiscal 2025.

AMCR Stock’s Price Performance

Shares of Amcor have lost 3.1% over the past year against an 11.9% rise of its industry.

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Amcor’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Amcor currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Better-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products space include Applied Industrial Technologies Inc. AIT, Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc. ATMU and Gates Industrial Corporation plc GTES. 

Applied Industrial Technologies currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). AIT beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 4.9%. The company's shares have soared 38.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Atmus Filtration, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. In this time frame, it has delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 13.8%, on average. NGD’s shares have rallied 64.9% over the past year. 

Gates Industrial, which currently has a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 11.8%. GTES has gained around 52% in the past year.

 

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