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Text: In addition to our results and outlook, Ted will go through a deep dive on SEE Automation.
These statements are based solely on information that is now available to us.
Additionally, our future performance may differ due to a number of factors.
We discuss financial measures that do not conform to U.S. GAAP.
Chris and I will discuss our Q4 and year-end results, our 2022 outlook, and we'll be introducing a deep dive into our SEE Automation three-year plan.
On Slide 3, you can see our vision: to become a world-class digitally driven company, automating sustainable packaging solutions, and we'll show you how we're getting it done.
In 2021, we delivered strong sales and earnings, overcoming dramatic inflationary supply and COVID challenges.
Our results are a testament to our culture, people, and powerful SEE operating Engine.
We're building a world-class digitally empowered company acting like a start-up to disrupt the markets we serve, our industry, and ourselves.
These are exciting times for us.
We're taking bold steps investing in our people, operations, and customers to create significant value for our stakeholders.
You can see how our SEE operating engine performed in the fourth quarter.
Net sales were up 14% to $1.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA was up 18% to $330 million.
For the full year, we generated free cash flow of $497 million.
As part of our strategic portfolio realignment, we successfully completed the divestiture of Reflectix, a maker of insulated materials for the construction market, and generated additional after-tax proceeds of $65 million.
On Slide 5, we're raising our SEE operating model growth goals for sales and adjusted EBITDA by 200 basis points.
Our higher above-market growth goals are led by our confidence in our strategy, disruptive innovations, and investments, and our execution across markets and geographies.
Through M&A and SEE ventures, we're looking to expand into attractive markets, technologies, and disruptive business models to accelerate our speed to market.
Under SEE ventures, we recently completed the acquisition of Foxpak, a pioneer in digital printing.
While Chris will give you more detail on our geographic performance, I'll focus on activities in our top markets.
In proteins and fluids, we experienced strong growth in automation with equipment, parts, and services, up double digits in the fourth quarter and the year.
In 2021, our e-commerce fulfillment portfolio shifted toward automation and sustainable solutions.
Sales for Autobag, which is illustrated on this slide, an Auto box, were up double digits in the quarter and the year, reflecting the increased demands for automated solutions from e-commerce and logistics.
You can see an example of our Auto Wrap solution on this slide as well, with Continental Tires and our partnership with UPS, we're enabling a fully automated tire packaging and sorting solution that creates an enhanced customer experience.
This is creating significant savings for Continental Tires and new business for UPS.
Turning to Slide 7, we'll take you through a deep dive on SEE Automation.
Our plan is to more than double our automation business to over $1 billion by 2025.
Our solutions model starts by identifying savings for our customers and converting those savings into solutions with a faster than three-year payback.
Our solutions multiplier, as materials and service flow through the installed base, is key to our growth.
We are digitally connecting more than 100,000 installed assets.
Our SEE Automation solutions resonate with our customers as we address their needs to reduce labor dependency, build more resilient operations, increase productivity, reduce costs and deliver flawless quality.
SEE Automation solutions drive margin expansion for SEE, as compelling customer savings and operational improvements allow for the best solutions at the right price, and we are making them sustainable.
We're investing to double our equipment production and service capacity over the next three years to match our ambition.
We recognize we have to go faster, and we are relentless in this pursuit.
The chart to the left shows how customer savings are behind our growth in automation.
The chart to the right illustrates our bookings trends of our fastest-growing automation platforms, giving you transparency into the strength of our business.
Solving customer challenges and driving tangible savings are the central pillars of our sustainable competitive advantage, creating an inimitable ecosystem.
On Slide 8, we are showcasing our SEE Automation solutions.
This is an example of a $7 million automated protein system, with less than a three-year payback, providing a step-change improvement for our customers' operations.
We start with the most labor-intensive processes in repacking facilities.
SEE Auto Load automates the process of loading the meat in the bag.
We're integrating cobots, robots, and other automated systems to increase line speed while producing flawless quality with Autobag and Auto Pack.
We continue to innovate in high-performance Cryovac materials, making them more sustainable, recyclable, and effective.
Our state-of-the-art vision systems for quality control can see what humans cannot and our artificial intelligence and machine learning continuously makes the process smarter.
We use our SEE Mark to validate and certify quality.
Our advancements in digital printing will enable customers to improve their operations and at the same time, digitally connect with their consumers.
A key point of differentiation for SEE is how we leverage our internal touchless automation capabilities and our OpEx teams to improve customer operations.
Our industry-leading experts are working with customers and their facilities to simplify the process, eliminate waste, remove people from harm's way, and then automate, putting in practice the principle of you get what you measure.
Let's talk about what automation means for growth.
On Slide 9, we use the ways of the SEE Mark to illustrate the value to solutions multiplier.
We are changing from our past to being a materials-first to leading with an automation-first solutions model.
We start with the value of the initial equipment order equaling 1x.
We continue with parts and services being 2x over the equipment life cycle, and the automation and integration opportunities represent 3x as our high-performance materials such as paper and films, along with digital graphics, flow through the system, that takes us well over 10 times the value of the original equipment order.
Our strategy is to make sustainability an integral part of our business.
We continue to make significant progress on our 2025 sustainability pledge, with approximately 50% of our solutions already designed for recyclability, and we reached approximately 20% recycled and/or renewable content in those solutions.
Approximately 15% of our solutions are fiber-based.
We designed our high-performance materials with recyclability in mind, to make sustainability more affordable and to create a pathway for circularity.
It starts with our touchless operations, where we actively measure every touchpoint from pellet to bag and aggressively work to simplify the process, eliminate waste, and millions of touches.
We're investing in automation and robotics to make it happen.
We're linking our own automation to our customers' operations and leveraging the same productivity processes we use internally.
Our digital initiative is critical to our sustainability and automation efforts.
Next quarter, we plan to feature in detail how our proprietary digital printing technology and SEE Mark connect consumers and customers to build brands and close the loop on the circular economy.
I'll now pass the call to Chris to review our results in more detail.
Let's start on Slide 11 to review our quarterly and year-end net sales growth by segment and by region.
In Q4, net sales were up 14% to $1.5 billion.
In constant dollars, net sales were up 15%, with 17% growth in food and 13% growth in Protective.
The Americas and EMEA were both up double digits, with Americas up 19% and EMEA up 13%, while APAC was up 4% versus last year.
In 2021, net sales were up 13% to $5.5 billion.
In constant dollars, net sales were up 11%, with 9% growth in food and 15% in Protective.
Growth was led by the Americas and EMEA, which were up 13% and 12%, respectively, with APAC up 6% versus last year.
On Slide 12, you can see organic sales volume and pricing trends by segment and by region.
In Q4, overall volume growth was up 4%, with favorable price of 12%.
In 2021, volume growth and favorable price were both 6%.
Let's start with volume trends and focus on Q4 performance and 2021 trends.
In the quarter, food volumes were up 6%, with growth across all regions.
Americas up 5%; EMEA, up 10%; and APAC up 6%.
The Protective volumes were up 1% led by EMEA with 7% growth, flat in Americas and APAC declined 4%.
We experienced accelerating volume in food in the second half, with higher sales and automation and growth in materials as food service continued to recover and retail demand remains strong.
Protective volumes surged in the first half of 2021 on the heels of 2020 industrial shutdowns and growth in fulfillment around the world, particularly in EMEA.
We faced tougher comps in the second half of 2021.
However, fulfillment automation sales were up and industrial demand was favorable.
Starting in Q2 2021, in response to inflationary pressures, we accelerated pricing actions.
Q4 price was a favorable 12%, with Protective at 13% and food at 11%.
For the full year 2021, we realized nearly $300 million in price, of which more than half was realized in Q4 as a result of timing of pricing actions and formula pass-throughs.
Given ongoing inflationary environment, we will be announcing additional price increases with care.
These increases will vary based on region and product offering and will average between 5% and 10%.
We will work directly with our customers to meet increased demand and help them drive productivity and operational savings.
On Slide 13, we present our consolidated sales and adjusted EBITDA walks.
Having already discussed sales, let me comment on our Q4 and full year adjusted EBITDA performance.
Q4 adjusted EBITDA of $330 million, up 18% compared to last year, with margins of 21.5%, up 70 basis points.
Full year adjusted EBITDA of $1.132 billion was up 8%, compared to 2020 with margins of 20.4%, down 100 basis points.
Higher volume contributed $23 million to Q4 adjusted EBITDA.
Full year volume contributed $109 million to adjusted EBITDA.
For the first time since Q3 2020, price/cost spread was favorable in the quarter, contributing $36 million to earnings.
In 2021, price/cost spread was unfavorable $37 million.
Reinvent SEE benefits totaled $21 million in Q4 and $64 million in 2021.
Operating costs include labor and other non-raw material cost inflation of about $20 million in Q4, which compares to $13 million in the same period a year ago and $69 million for the full year, which is up from $52 million in 2020.
Adjusted earnings per diluted share in Q4 was $1.12, compared to $0.89 in Q4 2020.
In 2021, we delivered adjusted earnings per share of $3.55, compared to $3.19 in 2020, an increase of 11%.
Our adjusted tax rate was 26%, compared to 24.5% in 2020.
Our weighted average diluted shares outstanding in 2021 were 152 million, compared to 156 million, given we were an active buyer of our stock throughout the year, purchasing 7.9 million shares for $403 million or approximately $51 per share.
At year-end 2021, we had $896 million remaining under our authorized repurchase program.
Turning to Slide 14.
Here, we provide an update on Reinvent SEE.
We achieved $64 million of benefits in 2021, bringing the cumulative benefits of our Reinvent SEE program to $354 million.
Cash payments associated with Reinvent SEE were $28 million in 2021 and $193 million since the start of the program.
To complete this program, we anticipate $20 million to $25 million in cash payments in 2022, half of which is carryover from 2021.
We anticipate $60 million of productivity gains in 2022, of which approximately one-third is coming from Reinvent SEE initiatives.
The remaining two-thirds is our SEE Operating Engine, which is designed to drive continuous productivity improvements.
With that said, inflationary pressures, coupled with costs associated with supply disruptions, are expected to continue.
The combination of volume growth, pricing, and SEE operating engine productivity gains are expected to mitigate these headwinds in 2022.
Turning to segment results on Slide 15, starting with food.
My comments will focus on our Q4 results.
In Q4, food net sales of $877 million were up 17% in constant dollars.
Volume growth of 6% was led by double-digit growth in automation and strong growth in materials.
Adjusted EBITDA of $204 million in Q4 increased to 20% compared to last year, with margins at 23.3%, up 90 basis points.
Higher volumes, pricing, and productivity gains offset elevated costs.
On Slide 16, we highlight Protective segment results.
Net sales increased 14% on an organic basis to $655 million.
Volume in the quarter was up 1% as we faced tougher comps and managed through supply disruptions.
Adjusted EBITDA of $126 million increased 10% in Q4, with margins at 19.3%, down 40 basis points versus last year.
Now let's turn to free cash flow on Slide 17.
In 2021, we generated $497 million of free cash flow relative to the same period last year, higher earnings and lower restructuring and interest payments were offset by working capital needs, and incremental capex investments to support strong growth.
On Slide 18, we outlined our purpose-driven capital allocation strategy, focused on creating economic value.
We maintain a strong balance sheet while driving attractive returns on invested capital and supporting profitable growth initiatives.
We are focusing our capex on touchless automation, digital, and sustainability.
We are expanding our capacity and equipment to align with customer demand and support continued growth.
We are investing in smart packaging in digital printing and see opportunities to expand our presence in attractive growth markets and geographies.
We are managing our portfolio with the discipline to ensure alignment with our growth strategy.
For net sales, we estimate $5.8 billion to $6 billion, an increase of 5% to 8%.
Our organic growth forecast is 7% to 11%, of which at the midpoint assumes approximately 3% in volume and approximately 6% in price.
We anticipate adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $1.2 billion to $1.24 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow 6% to 10%, and implies an EBITDA margin of approximately 21%.
For adjusted EPS, we expect to be in the range of $3.95 to $4.15.
This assumes depreciation and amortization of approximately $245 million, an adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 26%, net interest expense of approximately $155 million, and approximately 150 million shares outstanding.
And lastly, our outlook for free cash flow is expected to be in the range of $510 million to $550 million.
We are increasing capex to $240 million to $260 million to increase capacity to support growth initiatives.
For cash tax payments, we anticipate to pay $205 million to $215 million in 2022, reflecting expected earnings growth, $17 million tax payments on the gain from sale of Reflectix, and approximately $30 million impact related to the R&D provision requiring R&D expenses to be deducted over five years versus the prior immediate expensing allowance.
Additionally, as previously disclosed, our 2021 cash tax payments were reduced by approximately $24 million refund associated with the retroactive application of the revised U.S. GILTI regulations.
We are executing on our growth strategy, driving productivity, and cash generation, and aligning our business around the operating model.
This is reflected in our 2022 outlook for sales, earnings, and cash flow.
To fuel our engine and drive accelerated growth beyond 2022, we are increasing our capex and R&D investments for innovation and automation.
We have a strong balance sheet and we will continue to focus on generating attractive returns on invested capital.
With that, let me now pass the call back to Ted for closing remarks.
This is how we're making our vision a reality.
Our SEE operating engine is performing and gaining momentum.
We'll continue to invest in our 4Ps of Reinvent SEE.
Next quarter, we'll provide a deep dive on digital.
We're creating long-term value for our stakeholders and making our world better than we find it.
Operator, we'd like to begin the Q&A session.

user
sees fy adjusted earnings per share $3.95 to $4.15.
q4 adjusted earnings per share $1.12.
sees fy sales $5.8 billion to $6.0 billion.
q4 earnings per share $1.12.
qtrly net sales of $1.5 billion increased 14% as reported in q4 2021.
in quarter currency had an unfavorable impact of $11 million, or 1.5%.

assistant