Ball Corporation posts lower second-quarter earnings

Ball Corporation said its second quarter earnings for the year fell to US$$105.9 million, due to weakness in its plastic packaging business in North America. The company had posted net income of US$129.8 million in the same period last year.

“Results from our PET bottle business… have been disappointing," said R. David Hoover, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer "Slow demand for certain higher-margin PET containers that we experienced in the first quarter continued into the second quarter."

The manufacturer of plastic and metal packaging products said its earnings for the first six months this year were US$187.1 million, up from US$174.2 million the same period last year.