Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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So not only are we making the right financial messaging and decision, but we’re also doing the right thing for sustainability actually improving what is ultimately the material with the best carbon footprint and making it that much better. And not to mention what we continue to do in terms of safety. And again, safety is our Number 1 priority, but keeping our people safe, keep them in the game, productive inside the site. Those are some of the areas that we’ve had a heavy focus and €“ when you think about the scale of our company overall, it can have some really significant benefits. So that’s where Mark had quoted that we’re estimated to be in the range of plus of $125 million and we’ve taken the right actions from the investment to get that done and make that happen.

Anthony Pettinari: Okay. That’s very helpful. And then just on the updated 2.5 to 3.5 turns leverage target that definitely makes sense. I think in the slides, there’s a reference to 2023 leverage potentially staying at 3.7x, which is, I guess, unchanged from last year. Understanding it’s not too far from your target range, but I’m just wondering if you talk about debt paydown versus repurchases as, sort of a priority for 2023 and how you balance those?

Tom Salmon: It’s a great question. We anticipate being within that target range at the end of fiscal 2024. And the reason is that the compelling opportunity to repurchase our shares right now, given the dislocation in our valuation takes precedent, we believe it is an unmatched opportunity for us. So, we’re going to continue to focus on buying back our shares as part of our capital allocation program in 2023. And certainly, as we see improvement in the valuation of those shares, we can ultimately pivot further to debt reduction. But again, we believe we’ll be in that range by the end of fiscal 2024.

Mark Miles: Yes. I think Anthony, I mean the stability and just quantum of cash that we generate and the earnings growth of the business, we can do all three. We can continue to grow our dividends. We can buy back a substantial portion of shares and repay debt. So, I think we have a great opportunity to do all three.

Tom Salmon: I think, Anthony, one of the enablers is, we’re starting to see some improvement in the financing markets out there. We clearly have showcased that we have opportunities inside our portfolio to perhaps look at businesses that are better suited for other operations. As such, that should get easier to do as the financing markets improve, and we expect that to be a big component of our energy and focus here throughout 2023 and beyond. A big opportunity for a portfolio of our size. And that clearly allows us then to pivot some of those proceeds to the capital allocation wheel that we’ve built, if you will.

Anthony Pettinari: Okay. That’s very helpful. I’ll turn it over.

Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. That will come from the line of Kieran De Brun with Mizuho. Your line is open.

Kieran De Brun: Hi, good morning. Maybe just a follow up on the capital allocation. When we think past 2023 into 2024, like, how do you think about M&A now fitting into, kind of your longer-term growth strategy? And where are the areas where you’d like to, kind of see that focus, I think, going forward? I mean, should we be thinking about that more focused on the circularity side of things, which seems to be a big opportunity or any thoughts on that front would be helpful? Thank you.

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