Packaging manufacturer Crown Holdings boosted North American shipments of aluminum beverage cans in the second quarter from a year earlier, largely attributing the uptick to stronger-than-expected demand stemming from World Cup festivities.
Regional sales volumes in April-June increased by 5pc on the year, with Crown saying roughly two percentage points of the growth could be tied to the global soccer tournament, the Florida-based company said Tuesday. Crown does not report outright shipment totals.
"Our comments previously with respect to the World Cup would have been something along the lines that it's a four-week tournament and how much more can people drink?" Crown chief executive Timothy Donahue told analysts. "Well, guess what? They drank a lot more" than analysts had anticipated.
Higher sales volumes signify a potential supply influx of used beverage cans (UBC) and class scrap, which are key feedstocks for aluminum rolling mills. Greater availability may weigh further on UBC buying spreads, which are hovering near historic lows following sharp increases in the Midwest transaction price — against which UBCs are discounted — and subdued intake from consumers.
The company lifted its full-year guidance for North American beverage can shipments, now expecting 3-4pc growth this year above 2025 levels, compared with gains of 2-3pc that it forecast in April. It cautioned that deliveries in the latter half of 2026 will slow compared with the second quarter, given the absence of demand tailwinds from World Cup and July 4th holiday celebrations.
"We had a quarter we didn't expect for a lot of reasons," Donahue said.
Still, Crown anticipates that demand in the region will hold firm, saying aluminum beverage cans continue to be the packaging substrate of choice for drink manufacturers. The company, though, is monitoring how persistent inflationary concerns and higher household costs may impact consumer spending.
The boost in North American sales volumes supported Crown's global deliveries in April-June, which increased by 5pc on the year. The company registered "double-digit" shipments growth in Asia and 7pc gains in Europe, which helped to offset a 10pc decline in Latin America — most notably in Brazil. Quarterly deliveries in the Middle East increased from the prior year, as shipments from its facilities in Jordan and Saudi Arabia outweighed a 20pc drop in the UAE because of the US-Iran war.
Crown's profit increased by 35pc to $245mn in the second quarter on the year, while revenues rose by more than 16pc to nearly $3.7bn over the same period.
