Grief Inc.’s board declared quarterly cash dividends of $0.44 per share of Class A Common Stock and $0.66 per share of Class B Common Stock in its third quarter 2019 results report. Dividends are payable Oct. 1, 2019, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Sept. 17, 2019. The Delaware-headquartered industrial packaging products and services company also reports its 2018 acquisition of Caraustar Industries Inc. for $1.8 billion is providing more value than expected.
“Greif produced solid third quarter 2019 results despite ongoing market softness and a weakening industrial economy,” Greif President and CEO Pete Watson said, in a statement. “Third quarter adjusted EBITDA rose by roughly 39 percent versus the prior year quarter, while Class A earnings per share, excluding the impact of adjustments, increased by 5 percent.
“Our newly acquired Caraustar operations performed better than our original assumptions. However, we faced weaker market demand in our containerboard operations and in certain segments of our Rigid Industrial Packaging business. In light of external headwinds, we are implementing additional optimization measures in parts of our portfolio to lower costs and better navigate challenging market conditions. We remain laser focused on those areas within our control to more profitability serve our customers. I remain highly confident in our long term plan to drive more sustainable free cash flow, delever our balance sheet and grow our profits.”
