Net sales declined $41 million compared to the combined prior year period. The decline was primarily attributable to the impact of $51 million of foreign currency, $31 million of lower Consumer Packaging net sales due to MeadWestvaco’s sale of its European tobacco converting business in April 2015 prior to the merger, and $33 million of lower Specialty Chemicals net sales, excluding foreign currency, which were partially offset by $16 million of higher Land and Development net sales.
“WestRock had a very good 2Q, with solid operating results highlighted by the significant margin improvement in our Consumer Packaging segment," said Steve Voorhees, CEO of WestRock. “We delivered strong financial performance and made progress on the achievement of our synergy and performance improvement goals by realizing $350 million in annual run-rate savings as of the end of the 2Q. Our performance this quarter further demonstrates the success of our differentiated strategy that is creating value for our customers and stockholders. We continue to expect to generate between $950 million to $1 billion in free cash flow during fiscal 2016.”
WestRock is an American corrugated packaging company. It was formed in May 2015 after regulators approved the merger ofMeadWestvaco and RockTenn.
