Graeme Hart draws US$143m dividend from Reynolds Consumer

New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart drew US$143 million ($226m) in dividends from his majority-owned US company Reynolds Consumer Products last year, financial statements show.

That followed the same amount received in 2021 and US$92m in 2020.

Hart’s Rank Group floated Reynolds Consumer on the Nasdaq exchange in January 2020 after raising about US$1.2 billion in an initial public offer (IPO).

Packaging Finance Limited (PFL), ultimately owned by Auckland-based Hart, now owns about 74 per cent of the company, a stake worth about US$4.3b ($6.8b) based on the latest share price.

Reynolds’ annual report out yesterday shows cash dividends of US$0.92 per share were declared and paid in the year ended December 31, 2022, A further quarterly cash dividend of 23c a share was paid on February 28, 2023.

Reynolds Consumer on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$107m on revenue of $1.09b, up 7 per cent on the same period a year ago.

Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 53 US cents per share, which fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 57 cents per share.

For the full year to December, Reynolds posted net profit of US$258m, on revenue of US$3.82b - up 7 per cent on the previous year.

Lance Mitchell. president and chief executive officer, said three of four business segments had recovered to pre-pandemic profitability and made record profits in the fourth quarter.

“However, Reynolds Cooking & Baking performance was disappointing due to a combination of operational inefficiencies and lower volume. We are working to mitigate the impact of these challenges and have launched a comprehensive plan to improve Reynolds Cooking & Baking operations and performance, including organisational changes, redesign of equipment reliability practices and new initiatives aimed at driving operational excellence. We expect our execution of this plan to contribute to our anticipated return to pre-pandemic profitability over the course of 2023.”

Reynolds Consumer shares last traded at US$27.52, down from US$30 at the start of the month.

The IPO price was US$26 each.

The latest share price values the company at US$5.78b, meaning Hart’s stake is worth about US$4.3b ($6.8b).

Reynolds Consumer produces and sells cooking products, waste and storage products and tableware under brands, such as Reynolds and Hefty.

“We expect to further recover pre-pandemic profitability in 2023 driven by continued solid performance for Hefty Waste & Storage, Hefty Tableware and Presto and improving performance for Reynolds Cooking & Baking over the course of the year,” Mitchell said.