International Paper reports 2015. Fourth Quarter

International Paper reported full-year 2015 net earnings attributable to International Paper of $938 million ($2.23 per share) compared with $555 million ($1.29 per share) in full-year 2014. In the fourth quarter 2015, the Company reported net earnings of $178 million ($0.43 per share) compared with $134 million ($0.32 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2014. Net earnings in all periods include the impact of special items, if any, non-operating pension expense and discontinued operations.
Full-year 2015 Operating Earnings were $1.5 billion ($3.65 per share) compared with $1.3 billion ($3.00 per share) in 2014. Operating Earnings in the fourth quarter of 2015 totaled $361 million ($0.87 per share) compared with $227 million ($0.53 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Annual net sales totaled $22.4 billion in 2015 compared with $23.6 billion in 2014. Quarterly net sales were $5.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with $5.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. Revenues continue to be negatively impacted by foreign exchange translation.

Full-year 2015 business segment operating profits were $2.7 billion compared with $2.8 billion in 2014. Business segment operating profits in the fourth quarter of 2015 were $623 million, compared with $694 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Free cash flow was $1.8 billion for the full-year 2015 and $501 million in the fourth quarter. Cash from operations was $2.6 billion ($3.3 billion excluding the pension contribution) for the full-year 2015 and $990 million for the fourth quarter of 2015.
“International Paper finished the year strong with record ROIC of 11 percent, which was well above our cost of capital and the highest earnings per share in 20 years primarily due to robust performance in our NA Industrial Packaging business and from our Ilim JV,” said Mark Sutton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “As we move into 2016, we remain confident in our ability to execute well, generate strong free cash flow and deploy capital to create shareholder value.”