DELAWARE, Ohio (December 4, 2019) – Greif, Inc. (NYSE: GEF, GEF.B), a world leader in industrial packaging products and services, today announced fiscal 2019 and fourth quarter results.

Fiscal Year Highlights Include (all results compared to the fiscal year 2018 unless otherwise noted):

• Completed the acquisition of Caraustar Industries, Inc. ("Caraustar") and increased anticipated run rate synergies to at least $70.0 million from original $45.0 million estimate. Approximately $24.0 million of synergies were realized in fiscal 2019.
• Net sales increased by $721.2 million to $4,595.0 million.
• Gross profit increased by $171.0 million to $959.9 million.
• Income tax expense decreased by $2.6 million to $70.7 million, but our effective tax rate increased from 24.4 percent to 27.0 percent.
• Net income of $171.0 million or $2.89 per diluted Class A share decreased compared to net income of $209.4 million or $3.55 per diluted Class A share. Net income, excluding the impact of adjustments⁽¹⁾, of $234.0 million or $3.96 per diluted Class A share increased compared to net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $208.7 million or $3.53 per diluted Class A share. Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ increased by $155.7 million to $658.9 million.
• Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $136.5 million to $389.5 million. Adjusted free cash flow⁽³⁾ increased by $89.3 million to $267.8 million.

• Reduced net debt by $178.1 million since April 30, 2019.

Fourth Quarter Highlights Include (all results compared to the fourth quarter 2018 unless otherwise noted):

• Net sales increased by $244.4 million to $1,232.1 million.
• Gross profit increased by $54.2 million to $259.0 million.
• Income tax expense decreased by $29.7 million to $12.4 million.
• Net income of $65.0 million or $1.09 per diluted Class A share increased compared to net income of $40.1 million or $0.67 per diluted Class A share. Net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $73.4 million or $1.24 per diluted Class A share increased compared to net income, excluding the impact of adjustments, of $64.3 million or $1.08 per diluted Class A share. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $45.3 million to $186.8 million.
• Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $1.8 million to $195.4 million. Adjusted free cash flow increased by $1.2 million to $150.2 million.

"The global Greif team executed well despite a challenging industrial business environment in both the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019," said Pete Watson, Greif's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We achieved a step change in financial performance with the acquisition of Caraustar and advanced our focus on customer service excellence and disciplined operational execution around our global portfolio. As we look ahead to fiscal 2020, we are committed to managing those areas within our control to successfully navigate a continued uncertain global macro-economic environment."

Access the full release on the financial section of greif.com.