Ardagh Group S.A. today announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

LUXEMBOURG, April 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --

First Quarter 2026 highlights:

• First Quarter 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $322 million, +11% annual growth
• Last Twelve Months (LTM) Adjusted EBITDA of $1,446 million, +10% annual growth
• Cash and available liquidity of $1,277 million as at March 31, 2026

Mark Porto, Executive Chairman of Ardagh Group, said: "Ardagh Group had an encouraging start to the year, with 11% Adjusted EBITDA growth in the first quarter. This was achieved despite an expected decline in volumes and increased commodity costs arising from the conflict in the Middle East. Adjusted EBITDA growth in the metal business of 15% was strongly ahead of expectations and growth of 6% in the glass business was in line with expectations.

Furthermore, our overall liquidity position and net leverage at the end of the first quarter were in line with expectations, which reflects our tight focus on cash management. In addition, we continue to progress our turnaround plans to enhance the performance of Ardagh Glass, to enhance returns and position the business for success, which includes the intended closure of our Germersheim facility in Germany to address excess production capacity and for which we are currently in consultation with employee representatives.

The outperformance in the first quarter demonstrates the resilience of each of our businesses, notwithstanding what is a more challenging outlook versus our last update. We continue to closely monitor the evolving geopolitical environment, and associated supply-chain and inflationary pressures, stay agile and take actions as appropriate to safeguard our operations and performance. Our energy hedging arrangements and contractual input cost pass-through mechanisms help to mitigate the impact of higher commodity prices and support our outlook."

Ardagh Group Adjusted EBITDA of $322 million for the quarter represented a 11% increase versus the prior year (+5% at constant currency). This was driven by growth of 15% (+11% at constant currency) in Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP) to $179 million, as well as growth of 6% (-3% at constant currency) in Ardagh Glass Packaging (AGP) to $143 million.

AMP global shipments decreased by 1% in the quarter versus the prior year, due to a 2% decrease in the Americas – reflecting a 5% decline in North America, partly offset by a 14% increase in Brazil - and a 1% decrease in Europe.

AGP global shipments declined by 4% in the quarter versus the prior year due to a 4% decline in Europe & Africa shipments – reflecting a 7% decline in Europe, partly offset by a 5% increase in Africa - and a 3% decline in North America.

Ardagh Group ended the quarter in a strong liquidity position, with consolidated cash and available liquidity of $1,277 million as at March 31, 2026, of which $789 million is held in ARGID Group (ARGID) – which refers to Ardagh Group S.A. and certain of its subsidiaries – includes glass operations but excludes AMP.

Ardagh Group net debt to Adjusted EBITDA reduced to 6.2x as at March 31, 2026, down from 7.7x at the end of the prior year quarter, which includes the impact of the recapitalization. ARGID net debt to Adjusted EBITDA was 5.2x as at March 31, 2026.

Ardagh Group announces that Mike Dick, the Chief Executive Officer of AGP, will retire from his role effective as of the end of May 2026. All regional AGP CEOs will now report directly to Mark Porto. Commenting, Mark Porto, Executive Chairman, Ardagh said, "Mike originally notified the business of his plans to retire back in November 2024 but graciously extended his tenure to support us through our complex financial recapitalisation and transition to new ownership. We would like to thank him for his leadership during this period, his committed service over 23 years, and for also ensuring a smooth handover to our new owners, working with myself and the team in his final months."

A copy of the first quarter 2026 interim report can be found at https://www.ardaghgroup.com/investors/financial-results

About Ardagh Group
Ardagh Holdings S.A. is the ultimate parent company of Ardagh Group, which is a global supplier of infinitely recyclable metal beverage and glass container packaging for brand owners around the world. Ardagh Group operates 58 metal and glass production facilities in 16 countries, employing approximately 19,000 people with sales of approximately $9.6 billion.

For more information, visit https://www.ardaghgroup.com/investors

Earnings Webcast and Conference Call Details

Ardagh Group S.A. will hold its first quarter 2026 earnings webcast and conference call for investors at 10.00 a.m. EDT (3.00 p.m. BST) on Thursday April 23, 2026. Please use the following webcast link to register for this call:

Webcast registration and access:
https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1756472&tp_key=ff1caa31e9

Conference call dial in:

United States/Canada: +1 646-769-9200
International: +44 (0)20 7769 6464
Participant pin code: 8703967

Disclaimer
This release presents Adjusted EBITDA and net debt to Adjusted EBITDA, which are not defined under IFRS Accounting Standards. Adjusted EBITDA consists of profit/(loss) for the period before income tax charge/(credit), net finance expense, depreciation and amortization, exceptional operating items and share of profit or loss in equity accounted joint venture. We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate and assess our segment performance. Adjusted EBITDA is presented because we believe that it is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in evaluating companies in the packaging industry. However, other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA in a manner different from ours. Adjusted EBITDA and net debt to Adjusted EBITDA are not measures of financial performance under IFRS Accounting Standards and should not be considered an alternative to profit/(loss) as indicators of operating performance or any other measures of performance derived in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards.

This release may include "forward-looking statements," including certain statements, estimates, targets and projections provided by Ardagh Group S.A. with respect to its anticipated future performance, financial condition, plans, objectives and business outlook. In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "believes," "could," "estimates," "anticipates," "aims," "expects," "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "continue," "potential," "predict," "project," "target," "seek," "should," or "would," or, in each case, their negative or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. They reflect significant assumptions and subjective judgments by management, which may or may not prove to be correct, and there can be no assurance that any estimates, targets or projections are attainable or will be realized. Neither Ardagh Group S.A., nor any of its affiliates or directors, partners, employees or advisers, accepts any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such statements or assumes any obligation to update or revise them to reflect changes in expectations or events, conditions or circumstances on which such statements are based.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ardagh-group-sa--first-quarter-2026-results-302750815.html

SOURCE Ardagh Group S.A.