Ball Corp beats quarterly estimates on steady demand for its aluminum cans

Aug. 4 (Reuters) - Aluminum package maker Ball Corp beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter revenue and profit on Tuesday, supported by resilient demand for its beverage cans.

Increased beverage consumption during the soccer World Cup helped drive demand for packaging, despite weaker discretionary spending by lower-income U.S. consumers.

• Ball reported a 4.3% increase in global aluminum packaging shipments for the quarter, compared with a 0.8% rise in the previous quarter.
• Beverage packaging sales in North and Central America were $2 billion, up from $1.61 billion a year ago.
• Colorado-based Ball Corp is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aluminum beverage packaging, supplying cans, bottles and cups primarily to food and beverage companies across North America, Europe and South America.
• The company has also benefited from sustainability trends, as brands seek recyclable alternatives to plastic.
• The company also continues to navigate higher costs after U.S. President Donald Trump in June set a tariff of 15% on some aluminum derivative products. Tariffs on aluminum imports were 50% earlier.
• The company reported revenue of $4 billion for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts' average expected revenue of $3.71 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• Adjusted profit of $1.03 per share topped expectations of 98 cents per share.