International Paper recently reported first-quarter 2011 net earnings attributable to common shareholders totaling $342 million ($0.78 per share) compared with net earnings of $316 million ($0.73 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a loss of $162 million ($0.38 per share) in the first quarter of 2010. Amounts in all periods include the impact of special items.
Earnings from continuing operations and before special items in the 2011 first quarter totaled $322 million ($0.74 per share), compared with $296 million ($0.68 per share) in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $16 million ($0.04 per share) in the first quarter of 2010. Quarterly net sales were $6.4 billion compared with $6.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Operating profits were $585 million in the first quarter of 2011, up from $561 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 both of which included special items. "First-quarter results reflect continued strong performances across all of our global mill businesses," said John Faraci, chairman and chief executive officer. "Industrial Packaging and Printing Papers continued to post solid results, and Consumer Packaging delivered significantly higher earnings. Europe continued its strong performances in paper and packaging and the contribution from our Ilim joint venture also increased. As a result of these strong across-the-board results, first-quarter free cash flow was in-line with our expectations and we remain confident in our earnings and cash flow outlook for 2011."
