Segment income of $263 million decreased $12 million compared to the prior year quarter primarily due to increased commodity and other costs which exceeded the impact of higher selling prices, productivity improvements and income from the acquisitions.
RockTenn's restructuring and other costs and operating losses and transition costs due to plant closures for the third quarter of fiscal 2014 were $0.13 per diluted share after-tax. These costs primarily consisted of $9 million of pre-tax integration and acquisition costs and $5 million of pre-tax facility closure charges associated with previously closed facilities.
RockTenn CEO, Steve Voorhees, stated, "Our team delivered another quarter of solid operating results as measured by our adjusted earnings per share of $1.97 and free cash flow per share of $2.82. Over the last 12 months credit agreement EBITDA has increased to $1.6 billion, a 19% increase compared to last year and free cash flow has increased by $3.24 to $12.39 per share, a 35% increase, both of which reflect the continued strong operating performance of our team. Our balance sheet continues to provide us with the ability to make sound capital allocation decisions and continue to generate attractive free cash flow returns."
RockTenn is one of North America's leading providers of packaging solutions and manufacturers of containerboard and paperboard.