Crystal Lake, Illinois, February 8, 2024 — AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR), a global leader in drug and consumer product dosing, dispensing and protection technologies, today reported strong fourth quarter operational results driven by double-digit growth of the company’s proprietary drug delivery systems and strong growth for fragrance dispensing technologies. Reported sales increased by 5% and core sales, excluding currency and acquisition effects, increased by 2%. Aptar reported net income of $62 million for the quarter, a 6% increase over the prior year.
“I am pleased to report that we delivered strong fourth quarter and full year results. In 2023, we achieved year-over-year double-digit earnings per share growth, an increase of net income of almost 20% and a 15% increase in adjusted EBITDA. Our focus on cost management and operational leverage yielded margin expansion for each segment compared to the prior year and we also decreased selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of sales,” said Stephan B. Tanda, Aptar President and CEO, commenting on the full year results.
Tanda added, “Our Pharma segment had an exceptional year. In 2023, we had the highest number of new product launches since 2018, while adding an equal, risk-adjusted value of new project opportunities to the pipeline, which bodes well for continued, solid growth. A big driver of this success can be attributed to our proprietary pharma dosing and dispensing systems, which reported over 20% core sales growth in the fourth quarter and double-digit growth for the year. Our beauty dispensing solutions in fragrance also delivered double-digit core sales growth for 2023, rounding out a very successful year for us. Of course, there is more work to be done and we look forward to continuing the positive momentum into 2024 and beyond.”
Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights
- Reported sales increased 5% and net income increased 6% to $62 million
- Core sales increased 2% and adjusted EBITDA increased 22% from the prior year to $179 million
- Reported earnings per share increased about 4% to $0.93 compared to $0.89 in the prior year and adjusted earnings per share increased 27% to $1.21 compared to $0.95 in the prior year (including comparable exchange rates)
- Margins continued to expand across all three segments over the prior year
- Achieved an adjusted EBITDA margin within the raised long-term target range
Annual 2023 Highlights
- Achieved annual sales of $3.5 billion, with sales growth driven evenly by favorable product mix, volume growth and pricing
- Reported sales grew 5% and core sales increased 3%
- Reported earnings per share increased 18% to $4.25 and adjusted earnings per share increased 24% to $4.78
- Reported net income increased 19% to $284 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 15% to $708 million
- Margin improvement was driven by cost management, mix of higher value products, higher productivity and lower input costs
- Operating cash flow was $575 million, up from $479 million in 2022
- Generated $263 million in free cash flow, up from $196 million in 2022
