BROOMFIELD, Colo.—Ball Corp. is reporting a 3 percent increase in first-quarter net income, crediting improvements in its metal food and household product container division.
The company said Thursday its net income was $83.8 million, or 85 cents per share, up from $81.2 million, or 78 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2007.
The most recent quarter reflects a gain of $4.4 million, or 5 cents per share, from the sale of an aerospace engineering services business in Australia.
Revenue rose to $1.74 billion from $1.69 billion.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected an average of 66 cents per share in net income on sales of $1.77 billion.
Ball says its metal food and household product packaging unit in the Americas posted a profit of $14.8 million which compares to a loss of $200,000 in the year-ago period.
Ball’s stock rose $2.68, or 5.3 percent, to $52.79 a share in early Thursday trading.
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