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APTARGROUP, INC. — Call Transcript 2026
May 1, 2026
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to Aptar's 2026 first quarter results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. Introducing today's conference call is Mrs. Mary Skafidas, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications. Please go ahead. Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us today. Joining me on today's call are Stephan Tanda, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Vanessa Kanu, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Gael Touya, our Chief Executive Officer Designate and President of Aptar Pharma. Our press release and accompanying slide deck have been posted on our website under the Investor Relations page. During this call, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. These measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and the reconciliations are set forth in the press release. Please refer to the press release disseminated yesterday for the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure discussed during this earnings call. As always, we will post a replay of this call on our website. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Stephan. Thank you, Mary, good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us on the call today. As previously announced, I will be retiring later this year, and we will welcome Gael Touya as Aptar's next CEO on September 1. I will still lead the Q2 earnings call on July 31st. Please hold any roasting remarks for that call. Gael and I are collaborating closely during the transition period. Gael is joining us today and would like to say a few words to kick off the call. Gael? Thank you, Stephan. Good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to join the call today. So grateful to the warm welcome I've received as CEO Designate. I'm very much looking forward to connecting more closely with our investors and stakeholders over the coming months. Happy to be here with you today. Thank you, Gael. Everyone, again, please save your roast comments until the second quarter and the tougher questions you can keep for the third quarter when Gael officially takes over as CEO. I'll begin my remarks by highlighting our first quarter results, and later in the call, our CFO, Vanessa Kanu, will provide additional details on the key drivers for the quarter. Overall, the quarter unfolded largely as we expected. Reported growth benefited from favorable currency movements. However, underlying performance reflected a mixed operating environment, driven primarily by the anticipated emergency medicine destocking following exceptional growth in quarter one 2024 and quarter one 2025. Across the broader portfolio, demand trends remain healthy and several of our core growth platforms have continued to perform well. Our pharma segment continued to see growing demand in key areas, including GLP-1, biologics, systemic nasal drug delivery, nasal decongestants, and ophthalmic dispensing, reinforcing our confidence in the long-term growth profile of the business. Consumer dispensing also contributed positively with volume and mix improvements across both beauty and closures. In beauty, demand was supported by strength in prestige fragrance and select personal care applications. Closures benefited from high product volumes, which was offset by the passing on of lower resin pricing. Across both segments, our teams remain focused on disciplined execution, portfolio optimization, and overall operational resilience. Before I turn the call over to Vanessa, let me turn to our pharma pipeline, where our core business has continued to deliver. Systemic nasal drug delivery is accelerating, and injectables now accounts for a greater portion of our opportunity set. The decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted core sales by 3% in the first quarter. Over the past several months, multiple programs have advanced through key clinical and regulatory milestones, many of them leveraging Aptar's market-leading nasal and drug delivery technologies. Across intranasal delivery, our platforms are supporting a range of phase II programs, including Ena Respiratory's virus-agnostic respiratory therapy. These programs rely on the precision, reliability, and scalability of our delivery systems, supported by Aptar's integrated formulation and regulatory capabilities in reinforcing our role as a trusted development partner. I also wanted to share a few approval updates regarding Neffy, the emergency treatment of type one allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an update to prescribing information for Neffy, removing the age criteria. In addition, Health Canada granted approval for Neffy, along with the Emirates Drug Establishment in UAE. In the prescription market, Cipla recently announced that they received U.S. FDA approval for their first AB-rated generic therapeutic equivalent of Ventolin using our metered dose inhaler valve. This medication is used to treat or prevent bronchospasms in people who have reversible obstructive airway disease and is another example of our technologies being used on the original drug and then playing a key role in the approval process for the generic version. I also want to highlight a few more products that launched in the quarter. Our elastomeric components for injectables are featured on a blood derivative medication in the U.S. Our ophthalmic dispensing technology is being used for an eye care product in Latin America. In Europe, our bag-on-valve spray technology is featured on a nasal saline for infants. Finally, our recent partnership with Enable Injections integrates Aptar Digital Health's connected lifecycle-ready digital solutions with the enFuse on-body delivery system, supporting patient engagement, patient adherence, and data insights from clinical development through commercialization. In beauty, one of our newest prestige fragrance pumps is featured on Dior Addict by Christian Dior. Also, as brands move toward more alcohol-free water-based formulas, they need pumps specifically engineered to dispense higher viscosity or bi-phase liquids while delivering the fine mist consumers expect from a perfume. There's also a growing trend for skincare infused fragrances, those that hydrate, soothe, or even protect, along with microencapsulated fragrances where molecules are suspended in the formula to offer controlled fragrance release. Several of our pumps are engineered to address these growing consumer demands and the associated dispensing challenges, including our spray technology for the European launch of Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria alcohol-free hybrid and microencapsulated line. In skincare and makeup, following the success of Clarins Double Serum, Clarins has launched Double Serum Foundation featuring our patented dual dispensing technology with progressive dosage. Lastly, Clorox is using our custom actuator on its daily airspray in North America, highlighting the value of early customer engagement, where rapid prototyping and application-specific engineering can accelerate product launches. Turning to closures, our dispensing closure that's often used for Asian sauces is now featured on Newman's Own barbecue sauces. Lastly, I want to highlight our technology that's turning beauty and personal care products upside down, similar to what we did with ketchup and other condiments. We've launched our inverted lidless closures for single-handed dispensing that can be used with shampoos and conditioners, body washes, baby soaps, lotions, pet shampoos, and more. This technology is already being featured on a pet care shampoo line. Additional versions have been successful in the home care and haircare markets. It features our patented SimpliSqueeze flow control valve and reflects our commitment to converting categories and making daily routines easier for consumers around the world. I also want to provide a brief update on our ongoing litigation with ARS Pharmaceuticals. The case continues to progress, and we are pleased that the court denied ARS' motion to dismiss. We are now well into the discovery phase, and we have also filed a motion to dismiss the Southern District antitrust case or alternatively, to have it transferred to New York, where the underlying trade secret case is pending. As these matters remain ongoing, there is nothing further that I can share at this time. I would like to turn the call over to Vanessa to share more details on the quarterly results. Vanessa? Thank you, Stephan, and good morning, everyone. Let me begin by summarizing the highlights for the quarter. Our reported sales increased 11% and core sales, which adjust for currency effects and acquisitions, were flat compared to the prior year. We achieved adjusted EBITDA of $189 million, an increase of 3% from the prior year, and adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.2% compared to 20.7% in the prior year, primarily due to less favorable product mix and operational challenges in Beauty and Closures. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.19 compared to the prior year's adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 at comparable exchange rates. With those high-level comments, let's take a closer look at segment performance. Our Pharma segment's core sales decreased 1%, primarily due to less favorable product mix. Going into the year, we expect a challenging year-over-year comparisons due to an anticipated decline in emergency medicine. On that note, our previously communicated estimate that emergency medicine sales would decline by approximately $65 million in full year 2026 continues to track. In Q1, the decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted Pharma core sales by 3%. Let me break that down by market, starting with our proprietary drug delivery systems. Prescription core sales decreased 10%. The decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted prescription core sales by 5%. Additionally, as previously noted by Stephan, Q1 2025 was a strong quarter for this division across a number of application fields, which created a challenging comparison. Looking ahead, we expect continued growth in key end markets as we progress through the year. Consumer healthcare core sales increased 4%, primarily due to an increase in sales for eye care and nasal decongestant products. Injectables core sales increased 20%, with strong demand primarily for elastomeric components used for GLP-1, biologics, and antithrombotics. Services also contributed positively in the quarter, and we continue to see strong pipeline build for Annex 1 and biologics projects. For active material science solutions, core sales decreased 1% in the quarter. Growth in oral solid dose sales was not sufficient to fully offset lower sales in probiotics and diabetes test strips. Pharma's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 33.3%, a 150 basis point decline from the prior year. The margin decline was anticipated and driven by product mix and volume, due primarily to a decline in high-margin emergency medicine sales, while royalties continue to positively impact margins. Moving to our Beauty segment, core sales increased 3% with improving volumes in the quarter. Looking at the two largest end markets for Beauty, fragrance, facial skincare, and color cosmetics core sales increased 3%, primarily due to double-digit sales growth for prestige fragrance pumps as well as color cosmetics. Sales from Masstige fragrance technologies also grew in the quarter, offsetting a decline in skincare. Personal care core sales increased 6% with broad-based growth across all regions. Applications for both body care and hair care continue to show strong demand. Beauty's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 11.1%, a decline of 100 basis points, primarily due to less favorable product mix in North America. We are still feeling the impact from the fire at a supplier that we reported last quarter. Although we did see the margins improve sequentially from Q4 2025. Moving to the closure segment, core sales were flat compared to the prior year. While volumes were up, core sales were impacted by the pass-through of lower resin pricing. Looking at the two largest end markets for closures, food core sales decreased 3% primarily due to the resin impacts I just mentioned, partially offset by continued demand for our sauces and condiment dispensing closures. Beverage core sales increased 10%, primarily driven by increased sales for dairy drinks and liquid coffee creamers. This segment's adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.1%, a 270 basis point decline over the prior year, primarily due to previously reported maintenance issues, which our closures team continues to work through, and temporary plant closures as a result of extreme weather conditions in North America during the quarter. Additionally, we wrote off a minority investment in the quarter. At the total company level, consolidated gross margins declined by 210 basis points in Q1 year-over-year, primarily as a result of the aforementioned factors. Selling, research and development, and administrative costs, which we abbreviate as SG&A, increased in absolute dollars, largely due to currency effects and the impact of acquisitions. Excluding currency effects and acquisitions, SG&A dollars were flat year-over-year. SG&A as a percentage of sales decreased from 17.5% in Q1 2025 to 17.1%, a 40 basis point reduction year-over-year. These amounts include approximately $4 million in legal expenses for non-ordinary course litigation, which did not exist in the prior year period. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.19 were down 8% year-over-year at comparable exchange rates due to higher depreciation and amortization expenses associated with our capital investments and acquisitions, and interest expense of $17 million, a $6 million increase from the prior year due to higher rates on current year borrowings. Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.6% compared to the prior year's 25.8% due to a more favorable mix of earnings and greater excess tax benefits from share-based compensation. Moving over to cash flow. Free cash flow more than doubled year-over-year to $53 million for the quarter, comprising of cash from operations of $119 million, net of capital expenditures of $65 million. We repurchased $100 million worth of shares in the quarter and paid $31 million in dividends, returning a total of $131 million of capital to shareholders. Finally, we ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet once again, reflecting a cash balance of $223 million as of March 31st, net debt of $1.1 billion, and a leverage ratio of 1.43. Before we move to outlook, I'd like to touch briefly on the impact of the Middle East conflict. For Q1, the impact on our results was minimal. As we look ahead to Q2, along with others, we are seeing significantly increased input costs, most notably raw materials, transportation, and energy. We are largely passing these higher costs through to customers, supported in some cases by index contract clauses for resin. While we have not experienced any material supply chain disruptions to date, we are monitoring the situation very closely. As a reminder, as costs are passed through, margin percentage will experience some compression. Our focus is on neutralizing the impact to our overall earnings. On to outlook for Q2. We anticipate second quarter adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.32 to $1.40 per share, an effective tax rate range of 22.5% to 24.5%, and a EUR to USD exchange rate of 1.18. For full year 2026, capital investments are expected to be in the range of $260 to 280 million. Depreciation and amortization expense is now expected to be between $310 million and $320 million. With that, I will turn it over to Stephan to provide a few closing comments before we move to Q&A. Thanks, Vanessa. Regarding our outlook, looking ahead to Q2 and excluding the impact of destocking in emergency medicine within pharma, we anticipate a solid quarter with growth across each of our segments. As a reminder, the first half of the year is challenged due to the emergency medicine comparison, which should ease in the second half. Within pharma, outside of the emergency medicine end market, we expect our prescription division to return to healthy growth. We also anticipate continued growth across a number of pharma end markets, driven primarily by strength in our injectables and consumer healthcare businesses. Beyond pharma, we are expecting a strong quarter in closures, supported by solid demand and continued growth in beauty, with particular strength in fragrance. As we head into the quarter, we remain mindful of potential supply chain uncertainties and cost volatility as we continue to operate in a dynamic environment. While we are managing these conditions actively, we're staying disciplined and focused on what we can control as we execute through Q2. The demand we are seeing across a number of end markets is very positive. Our pipeline continues to build in pharma, and in Beauty and Closures, we see a healthy order book activity. With that, I would like to open the call up for your questions. Thank you. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star one again. In the interest of time and fairness to all participants, please limit yourself to two questions and then come back into the queue if you have more questions. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A list. Your first question comes from Paul Knight at KeyBanc. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thanks, Stephan. We'll save the remarks until July, as you suggested. The comments you made at the beginning around Neffy being approved for any age group U.S. and also in Canada, along with some other highlights, are those events and approvals enough to say, "My visibility for 2026 is higher"? A reminder to unmute yourself locally. All right, let's try again. Does this work? Can you hear me now? Operator, can you hear me? Loud and clear. All right. Sorry about that, Paul. We have a new system. A reminder, no single product really moves the needle substantially. I guess the exception is Narcan in any quarter. These incremental approvals are more proof points that over time we expect this to be a successful product. Clearly, being able to expand the market to children over 30 kilos, I think it is. And additional geographic approvals obviously bode well. I would not translate that to, you know, significant impact on a quarter or even the balance of the year. Having said that, we feel very good about prescription growth for the balance of the year. Clearly, Q1 had a very tough comparable, but we are already in Q2 expect strong growth in prescription, excluding emergency medicine. Last, are you adding GLP-1 capacity in the Elastomer business? You know, we made substantial investments, and right now we got plenty of capacity, and we do have the ability to create additional capacity by just putting in additional equipment in the existing large building. Okay. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Ghansham Panjabi. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Yeah. Hi, good morning. Can you guys hear me okay? Yeah. Hi, Ghansham. Okay. Terrific. Good morning. Congrats to you, Stephan, first off, on a great run and to you as well, Gael. Our team wishes you the very best in your new role. I guess first off on the, you know, the Rx component, I think you said down 5% excluding the naloxone destock, if you will. You know, you call that tough comps from a year ago in the first quarter 2025, but the comp for 2Q is also pretty tough from what I remember. I think it was up 10%. Mm-hmm ... in 1Q 2025 and +8% in 2Q. What is the expectation for Rx ex naloxone in 2Q? You know, I know you don't give specific guidance, but do you expect it to grow year-over-year based on the tough comp as well? Thanks for the congrats, and the short answer is yes. Yes, the comps are also demanding if you want in Q2, but we expect very solid growth for Rx in Q2 and excluding emergency medicine, of course. Yeah. Okay. Thank you for that. Consumer, you know, you said plus 4% in 1Q 2026. From what I remember last year, you know, you had a pretty easy comparison, just given the destock that was occurring In certain, whatever it was, cough and cold, et cetera. Was that in line with your plan in terms of consumer? If I could just ask a broader question as relates to some of the comments about, you know, supply chain uncertainty, and was there any benefit in any parts of your businesses across the portfolio as it relates to any sort of pre-buy just given customer uncertainty as relates to supply chain, et cetera? Thank you. Yeah. Let me take the second one, and then Gael, maybe you can comment on consumer healthcare growth. We really don't see a lot of pre-buying, and to be perfectly honest, with the bounce back of demand, there's several product lines that, you know, we couldn't even fulfill the demand of pre-buying, so it's rather limited. I understand the question. Consumer healthcare, Gael? Yeah, consumer healthcare, I mean, we are back on a positive trend for some quarters in a row after a good Q4. It's in line with expectation. We continue to get a very strong ophthalmic business with a good pipeline conversion. Dermal drugs is doing well. From a cough and cold, I mean, we are, we've seen the end of the inventory adjustments, and we know that in certain countries, I mean, that was a low cold and flu season, especially in the U.S. Yeah. Okay. Terrific. Thanks again. Congrats to you both again. Thank you, Ghansham Panjabi. Thanks. Your next question comes from the line of George Staphos at Bank of America Securities. Your line is open. Go ahead. Thanks so much. Hi, everyone. Good morning. Congrats to Gael and to Stephan. Again, we'll save the roast for July. Congrats on the quarter too. I point of clarification to Ghansham's question, I'm sorry, 'cause I'm doing dual calls here. Did you say pharma will grow even with the impact from emergency medicines, or just RX will grow ex the eMed impact? How should we think about that? Then I'll- Yeah, it's the latter one. go to the closures question. It's the latter one. Got it. we just wanted to highlight, and I know you all took a lot of comfort that Pharma ex emergency medicine grew 10% in quarter four, and it's a little bit less this quarter, but we expect, again, good growth in quarter two. Don't read too much into a single quarter here. Okay. Growth in pharma ex eMed. Correct. Got it. My question's just one on pharma and one on closures. Stephan, Gael, is there any thought in terms of what you're seeing with GLP-1s, recognizing it's not a huge driver of your business, that nonetheless maybe there's some pipeline filling occurring somewhere? How do you know, work against or peer into that if that's a risk? Then on closures, when do you expect that we'll be back to normal margins in this segment? Are you seeing any kind of uptake because of maybe a little bit stronger than expected barbecue season because of America 250? Are any of your customers talking about that, or is that at this juncture, "It'd be nice, but we're not baking it in"? Thanks, guys. All right. I haven't heard the America 250, although it's a worthy cause to celebrate, that's for sure. Let's all have some barbecues on that. Coming back on GLP-1, I mean, demand is very strong. I still hear anecdotally that consumers have to wait, not for weeks, but maybe a few days, to get their prescription filled. You all saw Lilly's very strong result with Zepbound, I think, being up 80% or so. Clearly, as people see other people losing weight, they wanna get in on the fun, and there is strong demand for the product. Gael, do you hear anything about pipeline build? Well, there's a very healthy pipeline, I mean, as we speak because obviously it's attracting a lot of players. No, I mean inventory build. No, no. There's no inventory there. I mean, this is not at all what we are hearing from our customers. On, on closures, let me start and maybe Vanessa, also jump in. Clearly, you know, let me not beat around the bush, disappointed with some of the maintenance issues that we had, and the two dozen tornado warnings that we got on our phones in the Midwest haven't helped, as we had to shut down plants and people take shelter, adding up to 11 days. My expectation would be for the second half, for closure to return to normal margins, but I look to you, Vanessa. Absolutely, Stephan. You're absolutely right. I don't think I have much more to add to that. We did have some challenges, which I did call out in my prepared remarks. We do expect to see sequential margin improvements in closures, and that's baked into our guidance. Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, Stephan. Thank you, Gael. I'll turn it over. Your next line comes from Matt Roberts at Raymond James. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Stephan, Vanessa, and Mary, good morning. Emergency, just coming back to that, the 3-point headwind in 1Q, give that on a $ amount as well, or maybe my Friday morning calculator is broken, so just a sanity check, as it seems a bit lower. How did emergency growth specifically compare in 2Q 2025 to 1Q 2025? Any other considerations within the Pharma category that decelerated in 1Q worth mentioning? I noticed asthma, COPD wasn't in the prepared remarks, just seeing if anything else was going on there. I think on your specific question, I would ask you to follow up with Mary. I think it's a very specific question that we probably don't have at our fingertips. In general, let's just reconfirm that the $65 million is still the right number. About two-thirds of the impact, we expect in the first half of this year, and the balance in the second half. By the time Q4 comes around, this should be almost washed out, and certainly with Q1 2027, we'll have a clean comparison. In the first half, the bulk of the $65 million will have been done. We feel now reasonably confident that this is the new level. If you deduct the $65 million, this is the new level from which we expect to grow from, call it low to mid-single digits according to our customers. Other movements, I don't think we wanna get into those specifics. Great. I appreciate that, Stephan. While we're on pharma, the margin, while it was down, it was still within the range despite the mixed impact. I think down 1.5 points versus the 3 points we saw last quarter that had Narcan and emergency in there. Given what you saw in 4Q and 1Q, is the long-term range still achievable in 2026? How do you think about the progression through the year? In 1Q specifically, like I said, despite the mix was still within the range. Any other drivers of that, whether it was cost performance, was there any change in royalty revenues in the quarter, or injectable margins have improved that much? Just any color there on what you're seeing on the margin. Yeah, I mean, look, Pharma is a great business and, of course, emergency medicine is very profitable, hence, a somewhat lower margin, but still within the range. To answer your first question, yeah, we do expect Pharma to be with its long-term EBITDA margin target for the year. As the year progresses, you know, to return with the top line growth. I think we said also last time that we expect the company to be within its long-term EBITDA margin target for the year, which is usually, we don't give guidance for the year, but that is obviously a consequence of Pharma being there. Beyond that, I wouldn't say anything else. Yeah. I think the only update I would add to that is as we look at sort of full year. Yeah this really relates to, you know, the pass-through of higher costs that we're seeing. I did mention this in my prepared remarks, that as we pass on these costs, it does have a compression impact on margin percentage. clearly our focus is to neutralize the dollars impact on our bottom line. you might see, you know, at the segment level of some compression, based on the pass-through of these costs. That makes sense, Vanessa. Thank you again. Your next question comes from the line of Matt Larew at William Blair. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Good morning, everyone. Maybe just following up on the margin point. You know, the six prior quarters, before sort of the emergency med destock occurred, you know, corporate gross margins averaged around 38%. And then obviously the last couple quarters below that, because of the destock, you've also had, as you referenced, the operational issues in beauty and closures. All of those things, as we get into the back half, are improving. Just is it fair to think that you can get back to that range for corporate gross margins by Q3 or Q4? Yeah. I mean, Matt, we're guiding for Q2. We're not guiding for Q3, Q4. I think directionally, that all aligns to what Stephan just shared and what we shared on the last call as well. Really it's a gross margin story. The overall EBITDA margin impact is a gross margin story because you would have seen in Q1 we're pretty tight from an SG&A perspective. No issues there. You know, it's really gross margins, right? Which is coming from the mix impact, which is coming from the operational issues that we've had to deal with in beauty and closures. All of those will start to sequentially improve starting in Q2. Directionally, you're absolutely right. Maybe just following up on the kind of operational issues, the maintenance, which is something sort of you can control, and the fire at one of your suppliers, which is something you can't control as much. Would be curious how those progressed in the quarter and I guess what your expectation is to when you'll be closing the loop on those things. Yeah. I can only repeat what we said earlier. I certainly expect in the second half for these issues, both in beauty and in closures to have passed with sequential improvements. All right. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Rizzo at Jefferies. Your line's open. Please go ahead. Hey, guys. Thank you for taking my questions. Just on the Narcan, I was wondering if, you know, after we get through this initial kind of destock or this issue, if over the long term we're gonna see this again where emergency services or buyers of this product kind of reload, so to speak, and you see a huge surge and then it kind of flattened and then it declines. Is it gonna be lumpy like that, or is it just, I don't know, just over-ordering the first go-round? How should we think about it? Yeah. Hi, Dan. I certainly would expect the first one. I mean, this is such a unique set of circumstances where you have the originator more than a handful of generics over-the-counter approval and all this money from the settlements converging on this inhalation or everybody getting ready to do battle to win contracts. Now it's a much more, not organized, but it's a competitive market. You know, people win one state, lose another state. I don't see the same kind of dynamics repeating. Now, will you have lumpiness? I'm sure. You know, there's no business where you don't have that, and this one has less visibility than most because we can't track inventory levels at the end user. Since, you know, we have 50 states being in this game, there should be some evening out, and you have more than 12 competitors. That should even out. I don't expect this kind of magnitude. I shouldn't say ever again, but in the foreseeable future. Okay. No, that's helpful, and that's kind of what I assumed. Yeah. You mentioned that there was no pre-buying for amongst your customers. I was wondering if you guys have stocked your own inventories or are planning to just to kind of, I don't know, smooth things out and make sure that you have security of supply given the volatility with logistics, with input costs, and with everything? Yes, Dan. Absolutely. Our purchasing teams, our supply chain teams are managing this very, very tightly. Securing safety of supply. Looking at, you know, obviously, you know, how do we balance geographically, and monitoring even the health of some of our suppliers, just to see what the impacts of rising energy costs may have on those suppliers' overall health. We will actually increase some of our safety stocks. I do expect that we'll see, you know, a bit of a trend in rising inventory. For all of the right reasons and done intentionally to make sure that we're well managed through the middle of this crisis and its longer-term impacts. Can you remind me, did you have to do that after COVID, like the COVID logistical issues after COVID? Was this something similar kind of unfold? Not really, that I can remember. Remember the main challenges in COVID were U.S. labor availability as we came out of COVID, and people still had government money in their pockets and weren't really coming back into manufacturing. Europe, companies kept running because the companies had the support from the government, not the individuals. It returned pretty smoothly. It's very different. All right. Thank you very much. A reminder, if you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. The next question comes from the line of Gabe Hajde from Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. Stephan, Gael, Mary, Vanessa, good morning. I wanted to ask about active this quarter. I know you guys talked about probiotics, and I think another headwind for test strips. On a go-forward basis, I know we're talking a lot about GLP-1 for injectables, but I think there's some solutions that you all have for oral solid dose of GLP-1. Anything that you can highlight in that arena for us? Yeah. I certainly would not put too much into active film, which is, you know, the kind of the film that goes into the blisters of, let's say, sensitive drugs, in the GLP-1 drugs. I think it's too early. I know we have one in the pipeline here, but it's too early to kinda make any calculations on that. I think the active material business is has very exciting pipeline. For example, on nitrosamine reduction, that is a much bigger topic that the FDA is cracking down on, and we're maybe the only solution where you can reduce your nitrosamine and not change anything else. I think the other dynamic that played out this quarter is that the further transition from, you know, the finger prick with diabetes test strips, where we make the vial for the test strips to more flash glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring. As you know, we are involved with Abbott's Libre and Lingo. It's more of a matter, you know, the decline of the first one or the growth of the second one, how this balances out in any given quarter. Overall, we continue to be bullish about active material. I wouldn't hang it on oral GLP-1. Understood. Vanessa, I don't think you called out a specific headwind, and I, generally speaking, historically, you all have, been able to catch up pretty quick on price cost headwinds. Is there something specifically baked into Q2, on resin lags or anything else on transports, et cetera, that you're behind on that you would expect to get back in the second half? Not anything material to call out, Gabe. Yes, so I'll go back and just start with yes, of course, we are gonna see the impact of rising resin prices. We've already been feeling that in our business. Our closures business is actually where we see the biggest impact from a segment perspective, but of course it does impact all segments. Closures, we are generally protected by indexation. Beauty and pharma, a little bit less so, but even there we pass it on to customers. We've done that, you know, in other periods of rising costs, you know. This is something that we have a good muscle for. In terms of impacts to Q2, we've already started with those cost passthroughs. We don't expect any net material impacts to our overall Q2 results, and that's already baked into our guidance. Okay, perfect. I guess that's good to see. The last one was you did mention in an answer to a prior question about maybe yourselves building a little bit of safety stock. Is that on the raw material side, finished goods side? I'm just thinking about overhead absorption to the extent that things deescalate here and we're, I don't know, nine months from now, that you may be under-producing in some product lines. Just curious if there's anything specific. I think, Stephan, that you may have mentioned where you're, like I said, building up a little bit of safety net. Yeah, no, that's on the raw material side. You know, just to make sure that, you know, we don't run out of any critical inputs. Okay. Thank you. Thanks, Gabe. Your next question comes from George Staphos at the Bank of America Securities. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Hi. Thanks, everyone. Just a couple of quick ones. First of all, Vanessa, if you'd mentioned it, I'd missed it. Can you talk about what the minority investment write-off was? You know, what the amount was, and what was behind it. You know, with the discussion on closures, and obviously you're managing through operating issues and you'll resolve them in the second half. Can you remind us how the Lincolnton plant's been doing? You know, I know that goes back over 10 years, but how has that performed after you put it up for food and beverage? In general, how do you view your operating network in closures now, and how's Lincolnton doing in particular? Thank you, and good luck in the quarter. Let me start with Lincolnton and then, Vanessa, maybe you can address the other question. Lincolnton is doing fine. Like any other plant, it has sometimes an issue here and there, but overall, it has grown up to be a good performing plant. It had also some of the weather issues that we talked about. It wasn't just in the Midwest, also in the South. I think we had some snow there. Other than that, actually, quite happy with Lincolnton. Some of the maintenance issues we talked about are actually more in the Wisconsin plant. Vanessa, maybe you talk about the venturing. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. George, I didn't talk too much about it in my remarks. I commented that there was, you know, additionally a write-off of a minority in investments. It was not the most material item. You know, Stephan just mentioned the maintenance challenges, the weather issues, and this was yet another factor that impacted closures unfortunately, you know, negatively in the quarter. It was not a big amount. It was a minority investment. It was a venture investment that we made a few years ago. As we do with all investments, we assess, you know, the recoverability of the investment, and we chose to provide against it. It probably had about, you know, again, it was not the most material impact, but another thing that impacted closures margins in the quarter, but not material to Aptar overall. I mean, overall, A few million, few million bucks, $100,000? Any way to size it bigger than? about 50 or 60 basis points in margin impact to your year. Okay. Thanks, Vanessa. important to call out, but I wouldn't spend too much time on it. Yeah. I mean, overall, I actually, not to digress too much, you know, we have a venturing program that has served us very well to, you know, complement our in-house innovation by taking positions in leading-edge companies that do innovation. You know, we trade a few million investments, often we're with against the board seat and get some dips on the technology. Overall, the portfolio has been returning quite well. As with venturing, as venturing goes, you don't win them all. Those that you don't win, you have to write off. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks, George. There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Tanda, I turn the call back over to you. Great. Thanks. Let me zoom out and summarize the call. Number 1, thanks for holding off on the roasting. Appreciate it. On the quarter, the team performed solidly, overcoming some of the unexpected challenges and delivering a good EPS number. As we move through the last two quarters, the visibility of the destocking trajectory of emergency medicine has improved, and we have confirmed our estimate of the $65 million, and that about two-thirds of that will impact the first half of this year with the balance of the second half. We talked about that Q1 was a tough comp for prescription in particular, but we expect prescription, excluding emergency medicine, to return to solid growth in quarter two, adding to the growth of injectables and consumer healthcare. We didn't talk about it much, but we continue to be very excited about the growing pipeline in Pharma on the back of ever-growing numbers of systemic nasal drug delivery projects and higher participation in injectable projects, including GLP-1s, biologics, and Annex 1 driven projects. As a reminder, pulmonary biologics and systemic nasal drug delivery remain the top-end markets in our Pharma pipeline on a risk-adjusted basis. As I mentioned in my remarks, more and more of our customers choose to disclose their collaboration with Aptar, also a credibility builder for them, in their early development phases, which allows us then to give you progressively more color on the kinds of things that are in the pipeline. As we look to Q2 and the balance of 2026, emergency medicine aside, we are well positioned for broad-based growth across all three of our segments. Continued strong growth in pharma, of course, excluding EM, with solid momentum across injectables, systemic nasal drug delivery, consumer healthcare. Beauty has returned to growth. In closures we expect continued innovation driving more category conversions, including in personal care applications. We're executing on our rigorous productivity roadmap, not only to address the short-term headwinds, including now the impacts from the Middle East conflict, but also to drive further efficiencies across our operations and supply chain networks, as well as SG&A. Last but not least, our strong balance sheets gives us strong optionality while investing in the business and returning capital to shareholders. With that, we look forward to talk to you in the coming weeks. Thank you. You may now disconnect.
Speaker 9: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to Aptar's 2026 first quarter results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. Introducing today's conference call is Mrs. Mary Skafidas, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications. Please go ahead. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to Aptar's 2026 first quarter results conference call. ladies and gentlemen thank you for standing by and welcome to aptar's 2026 first quarter results conference call At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. at this time all participants are in a listen-only mode Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. later we will conduct a question and answer session Introducing today's conference call is Mrs. Mary Skafidas, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications. introducing today's conference call is mrs mary skafidas senior vice president investor relations and communications Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 6: Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us today. Joining me on today's call are Stephan Tanda, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Vanessa Kanu, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Gael Touya, our Chief Executive Officer Designate and President of Aptar Pharma. Our press release and accompanying slide deck have been posted on our website under the Investor Relations page. During this call, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. Hello, everyone, and thanks for being with us today. hello everyone and thanks for being with us today Joining me on today's call are Stephan Tanda, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Vanessa Kanu, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Gael Touya, our Chief Executive Officer Designate and President of Aptar Pharma. joining me on today's call are stephan tanda our president and chief executive officer vanessa kanu executive vice president and chief financial officer and gael touya our chief executive officer designate and president of aptar pharma Our press release and accompanying slide deck have been posted on our website under the Investor Relations page. our press release and accompanying slide deck have been posted on our website under the investor relations page During this call, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. during this call we will be discussing certain non-gaap financial measures These measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and the reconciliations are set forth in the press release. Please refer to the press release disseminated yesterday for the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure discussed during this earnings call. As always, we will post a replay of this call on our website. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Stephan. These measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and the reconciliations are set forth in the press release. these measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable gaap financial measure and the reconciliations are set forth in the press release Please refer to the press release disseminated yesterday for the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure discussed during this earnings call. please refer to the press release disseminated yesterday for the reconciliations of non-gaap measures to the most comparable gaap measure discussed during this earnings call As always, we will post a replay of this call on our website. as always we will post a replay of this call on our website I would now like to turn the conference call over to Stephan. i would now like to turn the conference call over to stephan
Speaker 11: Thank you, Mary, good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us on the call today. As previously announced, I will be retiring later this year, and we will welcome Gael Touya as Aptar's next CEO on September 1. I will still lead the Q2 earnings call on July 31st. Please hold any roasting remarks for that call. Gael and I are collaborating closely during the transition period. Gael is joining us today and would like to say a few words to kick off the call. Gael? Thank you, Mary, good morning, everyone. thank you mary good morning everyone We appreciate you joining us on the call today. we appreciate you joining us on the call today As previously announced, I will be retiring later this year, and we will welcome Gael Touya as Aptar's next CEO on September 1. as previously announced i will be retiring later this year and we will welcome gael touya as aptar's next ceo on september 1 I will still lead the Q2 earnings call on July 31st. i will still lead the q2 earnings call on july 31st Please hold any roasting remarks for that call. please hold any roasting remarks for that call Gael and I are collaborating closely during the transition period. gael and i are collaborating closely during the transition period Gael is joining us today and would like to say a few words to kick off the call. gael is joining us today and would like to say a few words to kick off the call Gael? gael
Speaker 3: Thank you, Stephan. Good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to join the call today. So grateful to the warm welcome I've received as CEO Designate. I'm very much looking forward to connecting more closely with our investors and stakeholders over the coming months. Happy to be here with you today. Thank you, Stephan. thank you stephan Good morning, everyone. good morning everyone I'm pleased to join the call today. i'm pleased to join the call today So grateful to the warm welcome I've received as CEO Designate. so grateful to the warm welcome i've received as ceo designate I'm very much looking forward to connecting more closely with our investors and stakeholders over the coming months. i'm very much looking forward to connecting more closely with our investors and stakeholders over the coming months Happy to be here with you today. happy to be here with you today
Speaker 11: Thank you, Gael. Everyone, again, please save your roast comments until the second quarter and the tougher questions you can keep for the third quarter when Gael officially takes over as CEO. I'll begin my remarks by highlighting our first quarter results, and later in the call, our CFO, Vanessa Kanu, will provide additional details on the key drivers for the quarter. Overall, the quarter unfolded largely as we expected. Reported growth benefited from favorable currency movements. Thank you, Gael. thank you gael Everyone, again, please save your roast comments until the second quarter and the tougher questions you can keep for the third quarter when Gael officially takes over as CEO. everyone again please save your roast comments until the second quarter and the tougher questions you can keep for the third quarter when gael officially takes over as ceo I'll begin my remarks by highlighting our first quarter results, and later in the call, our CFO, Vanessa Kanu, will provide additional details on the key drivers for the quarter. i'll begin my remarks by highlighting our first quarter results and later in the call our cfo vanessa kanu will provide additional details on the key drivers for the quarter Overall, the quarter unfolded largely as we expected. overall the quarter unfolded largely as we expected Reported growth benefited from favorable currency movements. reported growth benefited from favorable currency movements However, underlying performance reflected a mixed operating environment, driven primarily by the anticipated emergency medicine destocking following exceptional growth in quarter one 2024 and quarter one 2025. Across the broader portfolio, demand trends remain healthy and several of our core growth platforms have continued to perform well. However, underlying performance reflected a mixed operating environment, driven primarily by the anticipated emergency medicine destocking following exceptional growth in quarter one 2024 and quarter one 2025. however underlying performance reflected a mixed operating environment driven primarily by the anticipated emergency medicine destocking following exceptional growth in quarter one 2024 and quarter one 2025 Across the broader portfolio, demand trends remain healthy and several of our core growth platforms have continued to perform well. across the broader portfolio demand trends remain healthy and several of our core growth platforms have continued to perform well Our pharma segment continued to see growing demand in key areas, including GLP-1, biologics, systemic nasal drug delivery, nasal decongestants, and ophthalmic dispensing, reinforcing our confidence in the long-term growth profile of the business. Consumer dispensing also contributed positively with volume and mix improvements across both beauty and closures. In beauty, demand was supported by strength in prestige fragrance and select personal care applications. Closures benefited from high product volumes, which was offset by the passing on of lower resin pricing. Our pharma segment continued to see growing demand in key areas, including GLP-1, biologics, systemic nasal drug delivery, nasal decongestants, and ophthalmic dispensing, reinforcing our confidence in the long-term growth profile of the business. our pharma segment continued to see growing demand in key areas including glp-1 biologics systemic nasal drug delivery nasal decongestants and ophthalmic dispensing reinforcing our confidence in the long-term growth profile of the business Consumer dispensing also contributed positively with volume and mix improvements across both beauty and closures. consumer dispensing also contributed positively with volume and mix improvements across both beauty and closures In beauty, demand was supported by strength in prestige fragrance and select personal care applications. in beauty demand was supported by strength in prestige fragrance and select personal care applications Closures benefited from high product volumes, which was offset by the passing on of lower resin pricing. closures benefited from high product volumes which was offset by the passing on of lower resin pricing Across both segments, our teams remain focused on disciplined execution, portfolio optimization, and overall operational resilience. Before I turn the call over to Vanessa, let me turn to our pharma pipeline, where our core business has continued to deliver. Systemic nasal drug delivery is accelerating, and injectables now accounts for a greater portion of our opportunity set. Across both segments, our teams remain focused on disciplined execution, portfolio optimization, and overall operational resilience. across both segments our teams remain focused on disciplined execution portfolio optimization and overall operational resilience Before I turn the call over to Vanessa, let me turn to our pharma pipeline, where our core business has continued to deliver. before i turn the call over to vanessa let me turn to our pharma pipeline where our core business has continued to deliver Systemic nasal drug delivery is accelerating, and injectables now accounts for a greater portion of our opportunity set. systemic nasal drug delivery is accelerating and injectables now accounts for a greater portion of our opportunity set The decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted core sales by 3% in the first quarter. Over the past several months, multiple programs have advanced through key clinical and regulatory milestones, many of them leveraging Aptar's market-leading nasal and drug delivery technologies. Across intranasal delivery, our platforms are supporting a range of phase II programs, including Ena Respiratory's virus-agnostic respiratory therapy. The decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted core sales by 3% in the first quarter. the decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted core sales by 3% in the first quarter Over the past several months, multiple programs have advanced through key clinical and regulatory milestones, many of them leveraging Aptar's market-leading nasal and drug delivery technologies. over the past several months multiple programs have advanced through key clinical and regulatory milestones many of them leveraging aptar's market-leading nasal and drug delivery technologies Across intranasal delivery, our platforms are supporting a range of phase II programs, including Ena Respiratory's virus-agnostic respiratory therapy. across intranasal delivery our platforms are supporting a range of phase ii programs including ena respiratory's virus-agnostic respiratory therapy These programs rely on the precision, reliability, and scalability of our delivery systems, supported by Aptar's integrated formulation and regulatory capabilities in reinforcing our role as a trusted development partner. I also wanted to share a few approval updates regarding Neffy, the emergency treatment of type one allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an update to prescribing information for Neffy, removing the age criteria. In addition, Health Canada granted approval for Neffy, along with the Emirates Drug Establishment in UAE. These programs rely on the precision, reliability, and scalability of our delivery systems, supported by Aptar's integrated formulation and regulatory capabilities in reinforcing our role as a trusted development partner. these programs rely on the precision reliability and scalability of our delivery systems supported by aptar's integrated formulation and regulatory capabilities in reinforcing our role as a trusted development partner I also wanted to share a few approval updates regarding Neffy, the emergency treatment of type one allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. i also wanted to share a few approval updates regarding neffy the emergency treatment of type one allergic reactions including anaphylaxis Recently, the U.S. recently the u.s Food and Drug Administration approved an update to prescribing information for Neffy, removing the age criteria. food and drug administration approved an update to prescribing information for neffy removing the age criteria In addition, Health Canada granted approval for Neffy, along with the Emirates Drug Establishment in UAE. in addition health canada granted approval for neffy along with the emirates drug establishment in uae In the prescription market, Cipla recently announced that they received U.S. FDA approval for their first AB-rated generic therapeutic equivalent of Ventolin using our metered dose inhaler valve. This medication is used to treat or prevent bronchospasms in people who have reversible obstructive airway disease and is another example of our technologies being used on the original drug and then playing a key role in the approval process for the generic version. In the prescription market, Cipla recently announced that they received U.S. in the prescription market cipla recently announced that they received u.s FDA approval for their first AB-rated generic therapeutic equivalent of Ventolin using our metered dose inhaler valve. fda approval for their first ab-rated generic therapeutic equivalent of ventolin using our metered dose inhaler valve This medication is used to treat or prevent bronchospasms in people who have reversible obstructive airway disease and is another example of our technologies being used on the original drug and then playing a key role in the approval process for the generic version. this medication is used to treat or prevent bronchospasms in people who have reversible obstructive airway disease and is another example of our technologies being used on the original drug and then playing a key role in the approval process for the generic version I also want to highlight a few more products that launched in the quarter. Our elastomeric components for injectables are featured on a blood derivative medication in the U.S. Our ophthalmic dispensing technology is being used for an eye care product in Latin America. In Europe, our bag-on-valve spray technology is featured on a nasal saline for infants. I also want to highlight a few more products that launched in the quarter. i also want to highlight a few more products that launched in the quarter Our elastomeric components for injectables are featured on a blood derivative medication in the U.S. our elastomeric components for injectables are featured on a blood derivative medication in the u.s Our ophthalmic dispensing technology is being used for an eye care product in Latin America. our ophthalmic dispensing technology is being used for an eye care product in latin america In Europe, our bag-on-valve spray technology is featured on a nasal saline for infants. in europe our bag-on-valve spray technology is featured on a nasal saline for infants Finally, our recent partnership with Enable Injections integrates Aptar Digital Health's connected lifecycle-ready digital solutions with the enFuse on-body delivery system, supporting patient engagement, patient adherence, and data insights from clinical development through commercialization. In beauty, one of our newest prestige fragrance pumps is featured on Dior Addict by Christian Dior. Finally, our recent partnership with Enable Injections integrates Aptar Digital Health's connected lifecycle-ready digital solutions with the enFuse on-body delivery system, supporting patient engagement, patient adherence, and data insights from clinical development through commercialization. finally our recent partnership with enable injections integrates aptar digital health's connected lifecycle-ready digital solutions with the enfuse on-body delivery system supporting patient engagement patient adherence and data insights from clinical development through commercialization In beauty, one of our newest prestige fragrance pumps is featured on Dior Addict by Christian Dior. in beauty one of our newest prestige fragrance pumps is featured on dior addict by christian dior Also, as brands move toward more alcohol-free water-based formulas, they need pumps specifically engineered to dispense higher viscosity or bi-phase liquids while delivering the fine mist consumers expect from a perfume. There's also a growing trend for skincare infused fragrances, those that hydrate, soothe, or even protect, along with microencapsulated fragrances where molecules are suspended in the formula to offer controlled fragrance release. Also, as brands move toward more alcohol-free water-based formulas, they need pumps specifically engineered to dispense higher viscosity or bi-phase liquids while delivering the fine mist consumers expect from a perfume. also as brands move toward more alcohol-free water-based formulas they need pumps specifically engineered to dispense higher viscosity or bi-phase liquids while delivering the fine mist consumers expect from a perfume There's also a growing trend for skincare infused fragrances, those that hydrate, soothe, or even protect, along with microencapsulated fragrances where molecules are suspended in the formula to offer controlled fragrance release. there's also a growing trend for skincare infused fragrances those that hydrate soothe or even protect along with microencapsulated fragrances where molecules are suspended in the formula to offer controlled fragrance release Several of our pumps are engineered to address these growing consumer demands and the associated dispensing challenges, including our spray technology for the European launch of Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria alcohol-free hybrid and microencapsulated line. In skincare and makeup, following the success of Clarins Double Serum, Clarins has launched Double Serum Foundation featuring our patented dual dispensing technology with progressive dosage. Several of our pumps are engineered to address these growing consumer demands and the associated dispensing challenges, including our spray technology for the European launch of Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria alcohol-free hybrid and microencapsulated line. several of our pumps are engineered to address these growing consumer demands and the associated dispensing challenges including our spray technology for the european launch of guerlain's aqua allegoria alcohol-free hybrid and microencapsulated line In skincare and makeup, following the success of Clarins Double Serum, Clarins has launched Double Serum Foundation featuring our patented dual dispensing technology with progressive dosage. in skincare and makeup following the success of clarins double serum clarins has launched double serum foundation featuring our patented dual dispensing technology with progressive dosage Lastly, Clorox is using our custom actuator on its daily airspray in North America, highlighting the value of early customer engagement, where rapid prototyping and application-specific engineering can accelerate product launches. Turning to closures, our dispensing closure that's often used for Asian sauces is now featured on Newman's Own barbecue sauces. Lastly, I want to highlight our technology that's turning beauty and personal care products upside down, similar to what we did with ketchup and other condiments. Lastly, Clorox is using our custom actuator on its daily airspray in North America, highlighting the value of early customer engagement, where rapid prototyping and application-specific engineering can accelerate product launches. lastly clorox is using our custom actuator on its daily airspray in north america highlighting the value of early customer engagement where rapid prototyping and application-specific engineering can accelerate product launches Turning to closures, our dispensing closure that's often used for Asian sauces is now featured on Newman's Own barbecue sauces. turning to closures our dispensing closure that's often used for asian sauces is now featured on newman's own barbecue sauces Lastly, I want to highlight our technology that's turning beauty and personal care products upside down, similar to what we did with ketchup and other condiments. lastly i want to highlight our technology that's turning beauty and personal care products upside down similar to what we did with ketchup and other condiments We've launched our inverted lidless closures for single-handed dispensing that can be used with shampoos and conditioners, body washes, baby soaps, lotions, pet shampoos, and more. This technology is already being featured on a pet care shampoo line. Additional versions have been successful in the home care and haircare markets. It features our patented SimpliSqueeze flow control valve and reflects our commitment to converting categories and making daily routines easier for consumers around the world. We've launched our inverted lidless closures for single-handed dispensing that can be used with shampoos and conditioners, body washes, baby soaps, lotions, pet shampoos, and more. we've launched our inverted lidless closures for single-handed dispensing that can be used with shampoos and conditioners body washes baby soaps lotions pet shampoos and more This technology is already being featured on a pet care shampoo line. this technology is already being featured on a pet care shampoo line Additional versions have been successful in the home care and haircare markets. additional versions have been successful in the home care and haircare markets It features our patented SimpliSqueeze flow control valve and reflects our commitment to converting categories and making daily routines easier for consumers around the world. it features our patented simplisqueeze flow control valve and reflects our commitment to converting categories and making daily routines easier for consumers around the world I also want to provide a brief update on our ongoing litigation with ARS Pharmaceuticals. The case continues to progress, and we are pleased that the court denied ARS' motion to dismiss. We are now well into the discovery phase, and we have also filed a motion to dismiss the Southern District antitrust case or alternatively, to have it transferred to New York, where the underlying trade secret case is pending. As these matters remain ongoing, there is nothing further that I can share at this time. I would like to turn the call over to Vanessa to share more details on the quarterly results. Vanessa? I also want to provide a brief update on our ongoing litigation with ARS Pharmaceuticals. i also want to provide a brief update on our ongoing litigation with ars pharmaceuticals The case continues to progress, and we are pleased that the court denied ARS' motion to dismiss. the case continues to progress and we are pleased that the court denied ars' motion to dismiss We are now well into the discovery phase, and we have also filed a motion to dismiss the Southern District antitrust case or alternatively, to have it transferred to New York, where the underlying trade secret case is pending. we are now well into the discovery phase and we have also filed a motion to dismiss the southern district antitrust case or alternatively to have it transferred to new york where the underlying trade secret case is pending As these matters remain ongoing, there is nothing further that I can share at this time. as these matters remain ongoing there is nothing further that i can share at this time I would like to turn the call over to Vanessa to share more details on the quarterly results. i would like to turn the call over to vanessa to share more details on the quarterly results Vanessa? vanessa
Speaker 12: Thank you, Stephan, and good morning, everyone. Let me begin by summarizing the highlights for the quarter. Our reported sales increased 11% and core sales, which adjust for currency effects and acquisitions, were flat compared to the prior year. We achieved adjusted EBITDA of $189 million, an increase of 3% from the prior year, and adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.2% compared to 20.7% in the prior year, primarily due to less favorable product mix and operational challenges in Beauty and Closures. Thank you, Stephan, and good morning, everyone. thank you stephan and good morning everyone Let me begin by summarizing the highlights for the quarter. let me begin by summarizing the highlights for the quarter Our reported sales increased 11% and core sales, which adjust for currency effects and acquisitions, were flat compared to the prior year. our reported sales increased 11% and core sales which adjust for currency effects and acquisitions were flat compared to the prior year We achieved adjusted EBITDA of $189 million, an increase of 3% from the prior year, and adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.2% compared to 20.7% in the prior year, primarily due to less favorable product mix and operational challenges in Beauty and Closures. we achieved adjusted ebitda of $189 million an increase of 3% from the prior year and adjusted ebitda margin of 19.2% compared to 20.7% in the prior year primarily due to less favorable product mix and operational challenges in beauty and closures Adjusted earnings per share were $1.19 compared to the prior year's adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 at comparable exchange rates. With those high-level comments, let's take a closer look at segment performance. Our Pharma segment's core sales decreased 1%, primarily due to less favorable product mix. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.19 compared to the prior year's adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 at comparable exchange rates. adjusted earnings per share were $1.19 compared to the prior year's adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 at comparable exchange rates With those high-level comments, let's take a closer look at segment performance. with those high-level comments let's take a closer look at segment performance Our Pharma segment's core sales decreased 1%, primarily due to less favorable product mix. our pharma segment's core sales decreased 1% primarily due to less favorable product mix Going into the year, we expect a challenging year-over-year comparisons due to an anticipated decline in emergency medicine. On that note, our previously communicated estimate that emergency medicine sales would decline by approximately $65 million in full year 2026 continues to track. In Q1, the decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted Pharma core sales by 3%. Let me break that down by market, starting with our proprietary drug delivery systems. Going into the year, we expect a challenging year-over-year comparisons due to an anticipated decline in emergency medicine. going into the year we expect a challenging year-over-year comparisons due to an anticipated decline in emergency medicine On that note, our previously communicated estimate that emergency medicine sales would decline by approximately $65 million in full year 2026 continues to track. on that note our previously communicated estimate that emergency medicine sales would decline by approximately $65 million in full year 2026 continues to track In Q1, the decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted Pharma core sales by 3%. in q1 the decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted pharma core sales by 3% Let me break that down by market, starting with our proprietary drug delivery systems. let me break that down by market starting with our proprietary drug delivery systems Prescription core sales decreased 10%. The decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted prescription core sales by 5%. Additionally, as previously noted by Stephan, Q1 2025 was a strong quarter for this division across a number of application fields, which created a challenging comparison. Looking ahead, we expect continued growth in key end markets as we progress through the year. Prescription core sales decreased 10%. prescription core sales decreased 10% The decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted prescription core sales by 5%. the decline in emergency medicine dispensing systems negatively impacted prescription core sales by 5% Additionally, as previously noted by Stephan, Q1 2025 was a strong quarter for this division across a number of application fields, which created a challenging comparison. additionally as previously noted by stephan q1 2025 was a strong quarter for this division across a number of application fields which created a challenging comparison Looking ahead, we expect continued growth in key end markets as we progress through the year. looking ahead we expect continued growth in key end markets as we progress through the year Consumer healthcare core sales increased 4%, primarily due to an increase in sales for eye care and nasal decongestant products. Injectables core sales increased 20%, with strong demand primarily for elastomeric components used for GLP-1, biologics, and antithrombotics. Services also contributed positively in the quarter, and we continue to see strong pipeline build for Annex 1 and biologics projects. For active material science solutions, core sales decreased 1% in the quarter. Consumer healthcare core sales increased 4%, primarily due to an increase in sales for eye care and nasal decongestant products. consumer healthcare core sales increased 4% primarily due to an increase in sales for eye care and nasal decongestant products Injectables core sales increased 20%, with strong demand primarily for elastomeric components used for GLP-1, biologics, and antithrombotics. injectables core sales increased 20% with strong demand primarily for elastomeric components used for glp-1 biologics and antithrombotics Services also contributed positively in the quarter, and we continue to see strong pipeline build for Annex 1 and biologics projects. services also contributed positively in the quarter and we continue to see strong pipeline build for annex 1 and biologics projects For active material science solutions, core sales decreased 1% in the quarter. for active material science solutions core sales decreased 1% in the quarter Growth in oral solid dose sales was not sufficient to fully offset lower sales in probiotics and diabetes test strips. Pharma's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 33.3%, a 150 basis point decline from the prior year. The margin decline was anticipated and driven by product mix and volume, due primarily to a decline in high-margin emergency medicine sales, while royalties continue to positively impact margins. Growth in oral solid dose sales was not sufficient to fully offset lower sales in probiotics and diabetes test strips. growth in oral solid dose sales was not sufficient to fully offset lower sales in probiotics and diabetes test strips Pharma's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 33.3%, a 150 basis point decline from the prior year. pharma's adjusted ebitda margin for the quarter was 33.3% a 150 basis point decline from the prior year The margin decline was anticipated and driven by product mix and volume, due primarily to a decline in high-margin emergency medicine sales, while royalties continue to positively impact margins. the margin decline was anticipated and driven by product mix and volume due primarily to a decline in high-margin emergency medicine sales while royalties continue to positively impact margins Moving to our Beauty segment, core sales increased 3% with improving volumes in the quarter. Looking at the two largest end markets for Beauty, fragrance, facial skincare, and color cosmetics core sales increased 3%, primarily due to double-digit sales growth for prestige fragrance pumps as well as color cosmetics. Sales from Masstige fragrance technologies also grew in the quarter, offsetting a decline in skincare. Personal care core sales increased 6% with broad-based growth across all regions. Applications for both body care and hair care continue to show strong demand. Moving to our Beauty segment, core sales increased 3% with improving volumes in the quarter. moving to our beauty segment core sales increased 3% with improving volumes in the quarter Looking at the two largest end markets for Beauty, fragrance, facial skincare, and color cosmetics core sales increased 3%, primarily due to double-digit sales growth for prestige fragrance pumps as well as color cosmetics. looking at the two largest end markets for beauty fragrance facial skincare and color cosmetics core sales increased 3% primarily due to double-digit sales growth for prestige fragrance pumps as well as color cosmetics Sales from Masstige fragrance technologies also grew in the quarter, offsetting a decline in skincare. sales from masstige fragrance technologies also grew in the quarter offsetting a decline in skincare Personal care core sales increased 6% with broad-based growth across all regions. personal care core sales increased 6% with broad-based growth across all regions Applications for both body care and hair care continue to show strong demand. applications for both body care and hair care continue to show strong demand Beauty's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 11.1%, a decline of 100 basis points, primarily due to less favorable product mix in North America. We are still feeling the impact from the fire at a supplier that we reported last quarter. Although we did see the margins improve sequentially from Q4 2025. Moving to the closure segment, core sales were flat compared to the prior year. While volumes were up, core sales were impacted by the pass-through of lower resin pricing. Beauty's adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 11.1%, a decline of 100 basis points, primarily due to less favorable product mix in North America. beauty's adjusted ebitda margin for the quarter was 11.1% a decline of 100 basis points primarily due to less favorable product mix in north america We are still feeling the impact from the fire at a supplier that we reported last quarter. we are still feeling the impact from the fire at a supplier that we reported last quarter Although we did see the margins improve sequentially from Q4 2025. although we did see the margins improve sequentially from q4 2025 Moving to the closure segment, core sales were flat compared to the prior year. moving to the closure segment core sales were flat compared to the prior year While volumes were up, core sales were impacted by the pass-through of lower resin pricing. while volumes were up core sales were impacted by the pass-through of lower resin pricing Looking at the two largest end markets for closures, food core sales decreased 3% primarily due to the resin impacts I just mentioned, partially offset by continued demand for our sauces and condiment dispensing closures. Beverage core sales increased 10%, primarily driven by increased sales for dairy drinks and liquid coffee creamers. Looking at the two largest end markets for closures, food core sales decreased 3% primarily due to the resin impacts I just mentioned, partially offset by continued demand for our sauces and condiment dispensing closures. looking at the two largest end markets for closures food core sales decreased 3% primarily due to the resin impacts i just mentioned partially offset by continued demand for our sauces and condiment dispensing closures Beverage core sales increased 10%, primarily driven by increased sales for dairy drinks and liquid coffee creamers. beverage core sales increased 10% primarily driven by increased sales for dairy drinks and liquid coffee creamers This segment's adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.1%, a 270 basis point decline over the prior year, primarily due to previously reported maintenance issues, which our closures team continues to work through, and temporary plant closures as a result of extreme weather conditions in North America during the quarter. Additionally, we wrote off a minority investment in the quarter. At the total company level, consolidated gross margins declined by 210 basis points in Q1 year-over-year, primarily as a result of the aforementioned factors. This segment's adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.1%, a 270 basis point decline over the prior year, primarily due to previously reported maintenance issues, which our closures team continues to work through, and temporary plant closures as a result of extreme weather conditions in North America during the quarter. this segment's adjusted ebitda margin was 13.1% a 270 basis point decline over the prior year primarily due to previously reported maintenance issues which our closures team continues to work through and temporary plant closures as a result of extreme weather conditions in north america during the quarter Additionally, we wrote off a minority investment in the quarter. additionally we wrote off a minority investment in the quarter At the total company level, consolidated gross margins declined by 210 basis points in Q1 year-over-year, primarily as a result of the aforementioned factors. at the total company level consolidated gross margins declined by 210 basis points in q1 year-over-year primarily as a result of the aforementioned factors Selling, research and development, and administrative costs, which we abbreviate as SG&A, increased in absolute dollars, largely due to currency effects and the impact of acquisitions. Excluding currency effects and acquisitions, SG&A dollars were flat year-over-year. SG&A as a percentage of sales decreased from 17.5% in Q1 2025 to 17.1%, a 40 basis point reduction year-over-year. These amounts include approximately $4 million in legal expenses for non-ordinary course litigation, which did not exist in the prior year period. Selling, research and development, and administrative costs, which we abbreviate as SG&A, increased in absolute dollars, largely due to currency effects and the impact of acquisitions. selling research and development and administrative costs which we abbreviate as sg&a increased in absolute dollars largely due to currency effects and the impact of acquisitions Excluding currency effects and acquisitions, SG&A dollars were flat year-over-year. excluding currency effects and acquisitions sg&a dollars were flat year-over-year SG&A as a percentage of sales decreased from 17.5% in Q1 2025 to 17.1%, a 40 basis point reduction year-over-year. sg&a as a percentage of sales decreased from 17.5% in q1 2025 to 17.1% a 40 basis point reduction year-over-year These amounts include approximately $4 million in legal expenses for non-ordinary course litigation, which did not exist in the prior year period. these amounts include approximately $4 million in legal expenses for non-ordinary course litigation which did not exist in the prior year period Adjusted earnings per share of $1.19 were down 8% year-over-year at comparable exchange rates due to higher depreciation and amortization expenses associated with our capital investments and acquisitions, and interest expense of $17 million, a $6 million increase from the prior year due to higher rates on current year borrowings. Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.6% compared to the prior year's 25.8% due to a more favorable mix of earnings and greater excess tax benefits from share-based compensation. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.19 were down 8% year-over-year at comparable exchange rates due to higher depreciation and amortization expenses associated with our capital investments and acquisitions, and interest expense of $17 million, a $6 million increase from the prior year due to higher rates on current year borrowings. adjusted earnings per share of $1.19 were down 8% year-over-year at comparable exchange rates due to higher depreciation and amortization expenses associated with our capital investments and acquisitions and interest expense of $17 million a $6 million increase from the prior year due to higher rates on current year borrowings Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.6% compared to the prior year's 25.8% due to a more favorable mix of earnings and greater excess tax benefits from share-based compensation. our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.6% compared to the prior year's 25.8% due to a more favorable mix of earnings and greater excess tax benefits from share-based compensation Moving over to cash flow. Free cash flow more than doubled year-over-year to $53 million for the quarter, comprising of cash from operations of $119 million, net of capital expenditures of $65 million. We repurchased $100 million worth of shares in the quarter and paid $31 million in dividends, returning a total of $131 million of capital to shareholders. Finally, we ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet once again, reflecting a cash balance of $223 million as of March 31st, net debt of $1.1 billion, and a leverage ratio of 1.43. Moving over to cash flow. moving over to cash flow Free cash flow more than doubled year-over-year to $53 million for the quarter, comprising of cash from operations of $119 million, net of capital expenditures of $65 million. free cash flow more than doubled year-over-year to $53 million for the quarter comprising of cash from operations of $119 million net of capital expenditures of $65 million We repurchased $100 million worth of shares in the quarter and paid $31 million in dividends, returning a total of $131 million of capital to shareholders. we repurchased $100 million worth of shares in the quarter and paid $31 million in dividends returning a total of $131 million of capital to shareholders Finally, we ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet once again, reflecting a cash balance of $223 million as of March 31st, net debt of $1.1 billion, and a leverage ratio of 1.43. finally we ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet once again reflecting a cash balance of $223 million as of march 31st net debt of $1.1 billion and a leverage ratio of 1.43 Before we move to outlook, I'd like to touch briefly on the impact of the Middle East conflict. For Q1, the impact on our results was minimal. As we look ahead to Q2, along with others, we are seeing significantly increased input costs, most notably raw materials, transportation, and energy. We are largely passing these higher costs through to customers, supported in some cases by index contract clauses for resin. Before we move to outlook, I'd like to touch briefly on the impact of the Middle East conflict. before we move to outlook i'd like to touch briefly on the impact of the middle east conflict For Q1, the impact on our results was minimal. for q1 the impact on our results was minimal As we look ahead to Q2, along with others, we are seeing significantly increased input costs, most notably raw materials, transportation, and energy. as we look ahead to q2 along with others we are seeing significantly increased input costs most notably raw materials transportation and energy We are largely passing these higher costs through to customers, supported in some cases by index contract clauses for resin. we are largely passing these higher costs through to customers supported in some cases by index contract clauses for resin While we have not experienced any material supply chain disruptions to date, we are monitoring the situation very closely. As a reminder, as costs are passed through, margin percentage will experience some compression. Our focus is on neutralizing the impact to our overall earnings. On to outlook for Q2. We anticipate second quarter adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.32 to $1.40 per share, an effective tax rate range of 22.5% to 24.5%, and a EUR to USD exchange rate of 1.18. While we have not experienced any material supply chain disruptions to date, we are monitoring the situation very closely. while we have not experienced any material supply chain disruptions to date we are monitoring the situation very closely As a reminder, as costs are passed through, margin percentage will experience some compression. as a reminder as costs are passed through margin percentage will experience some compression Our focus is on neutralizing the impact to our overall earnings. our focus is on neutralizing the impact to our overall earnings On to outlook for Q2. on to outlook for q2 We anticipate second quarter adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.32 to $1.40 per share, an effective tax rate range of 22.5% to 24.5%, and a EUR to USD exchange rate of 1.18. we anticipate second quarter adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.32 to $1.40 per share an effective tax rate range of 22.5% to 24.5% and a eur to usd exchange rate of 1.18 For full year 2026, capital investments are expected to be in the range of $260 to 280 million. Depreciation and amortization expense is now expected to be between $310 million and $320 million. With that, I will turn it over to Stephan to provide a few closing comments before we move to Q&A. For full year 2026, capital investments are expected to be in the range of $260 to 280 million. for full year 2026 capital investments are expected to be in the range of $260 to 280 million Depreciation and amortization expense is now expected to be between $310 million and $320 million. depreciation and amortization expense is now expected to be between $310 million and $320 million With that, I will turn it over to Stephan to provide a few closing comments before we move to Q&A. with that i will turn it over to stephan to provide a few closing comments before we move to q&a
Speaker 11: Thanks, Vanessa. Regarding our outlook, looking ahead to Q2 and excluding the impact of destocking in emergency medicine within pharma, we anticipate a solid quarter with growth across each of our segments. As a reminder, the first half of the year is challenged due to the emergency medicine comparison, which should ease in the second half. Within pharma, outside of the emergency medicine end market, we expect our prescription division to return to healthy growth. Thanks, Vanessa. thanks vanessa Regarding our outlook, looking ahead to Q2 and excluding the impact of destocking in emergency medicine within pharma, we anticipate a solid quarter with growth across each of our segments. regarding our outlook looking ahead to q2 and excluding the impact of destocking in emergency medicine within pharma we anticipate a solid quarter with growth across each of our segments As a reminder, the first half of the year is challenged due to the emergency medicine comparison, which should ease in the second half. as a reminder the first half of the year is challenged due to the emergency medicine comparison which should ease in the second half Within pharma, outside of the emergency medicine end market, we expect our prescription division to return to healthy growth. within pharma outside of the emergency medicine end market we expect our prescription division to return to healthy growth We also anticipate continued growth across a number of pharma end markets, driven primarily by strength in our injectables and consumer healthcare businesses. Beyond pharma, we are expecting a strong quarter in closures, supported by solid demand and continued growth in beauty, with particular strength in fragrance. As we head into the quarter, we remain mindful of potential supply chain uncertainties and cost volatility as we continue to operate in a dynamic environment. We also anticipate continued growth across a number of pharma end markets, driven primarily by strength in our injectables and consumer healthcare businesses. we also anticipate continued growth across a number of pharma end markets driven primarily by strength in our injectables and consumer healthcare businesses Beyond pharma, we are expecting a strong quarter in closures, supported by solid demand and continued growth in beauty, with particular strength in fragrance. beyond pharma we are expecting a strong quarter in closures supported by solid demand and continued growth in beauty with particular strength in fragrance As we head into the quarter, we remain mindful of potential supply chain uncertainties and cost volatility as we continue to operate in a dynamic environment. as we head into the quarter we remain mindful of potential supply chain uncertainties and cost volatility as we continue to operate in a dynamic environment While we are managing these conditions actively, we're staying disciplined and focused on what we can control as we execute through Q2. The demand we are seeing across a number of end markets is very positive. Our pipeline continues to build in pharma, and in Beauty and Closures, we see a healthy order book activity. With that, I would like to open the call up for your questions. While we are managing these conditions actively, we're staying disciplined and focused on what we can control as we execute through Q2. while we are managing these conditions actively we're staying disciplined and focused on what we can control as we execute through q2 The demand we are seeing across a number of end markets is very positive. the demand we are seeing across a number of end markets is very positive Our pipeline continues to build in pharma, and in Beauty and Closures, we see a healthy order book activity. our pipeline continues to build in pharma and in beauty and closures we see a healthy order book activity With that, I would like to open the call up for your questions. with that i would like to open the call up for your questions
Speaker 9: Thank you. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star one again. In the interest of time and fairness to all participants, please limit yourself to two questions and then come back into the queue if you have more questions. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A list. Your first question comes from Paul Knight at KeyBanc. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one on your telephone keypad. if you would like to ask a question during this time simply press star one on your telephone keypad If you'd like to withdraw your question, press star one again. if you'd like to withdraw your question press star one again In the interest of time and fairness to all participants, please limit yourself to two questions and then come back into the queue if you have more questions. in the interest of time and fairness to all participants please limit yourself to two questions and then come back into the queue if you have more questions Please stand by while we compile the Q&A list. please stand by while we compile the q&a list Your first question comes from Paul Knight at KeyBanc. your first question comes from paul knight at keybanc Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 10: Thanks, Stephan. We'll save the remarks until July, as you suggested. The comments you made at the beginning around Neffy being approved for any age group U.S. and also in Canada, along with some other highlights, are those events and approvals enough to say, "My visibility for 2026 is higher"? Thanks, Stephan. thanks stephan We'll save the remarks until July, as you suggested. we'll save the remarks until july as you suggested The comments you made at the beginning around Neffy being approved for any age group U.S. and also in Canada, along with some other highlights, are those events and approvals enough to say, "My visibility for 2026 is higher"? the comments you made at the beginning around neffy being approved for any age group u.s and also in canada along with some other highlights are those events and approvals enough to say "my visibility for 2026 is higher"
Speaker 9: A reminder to unmute yourself locally. A reminder to unmute yourself locally. a reminder to unmute yourself locally
Speaker 11: All right, let's try again. Does this work? All right, let's try again. all right let's try again Does this work? does this work
Speaker 10: Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? can you hear me now
Speaker 11: Operator, can you hear me? Operator, can you hear me? operator can you hear me
Speaker 9: Loud and clear. Loud and clear. loud and clear
Speaker 11: All right. Sorry about that, Paul. We have a new system. A reminder, no single product really moves the needle substantially. I guess the exception is Narcan in any quarter. These incremental approvals are more proof points that over time we expect this to be a successful product. Clearly, being able to expand the market to children over 30 kilos, I think it is. All right. all right Sorry about that, Paul. sorry about that paul We have a new system. we have a new system A reminder, no single product really moves the needle substantially. a reminder no single product really moves the needle substantially I guess the exception is Narcan in any quarter. i guess the exception is narcan in any quarter These incremental approvals are more proof points that over time we expect this to be a successful product. these incremental approvals are more proof points that over time we expect this to be a successful product Clearly, being able to expand the market to children over 30 kilos, I think it is. clearly being able to expand the market to children over 30 kilos i think it is And additional geographic approvals obviously bode well. I would not translate that to, you know, significant impact on a quarter or even the balance of the year. Having said that, we feel very good about prescription growth for the balance of the year. Clearly, Q1 had a very tough comparable, but we are already in Q2 expect strong growth in prescription, excluding emergency medicine. And additional geographic approvals obviously bode well. and additional geographic approvals obviously bode well I would not translate that to, you know, significant impact on a quarter or even the balance of the year. i would not translate that to you know significant impact on a quarter or even the balance of the year Having said that, we feel very good about prescription growth for the balance of the year. having said that we feel very good about prescription growth for the balance of the year Clearly, Q1 had a very tough comparable, but we are already in Q2 expect strong growth in prescription, excluding emergency medicine. clearly q1 had a very tough comparable but we are already in q2 expect strong growth in prescription excluding emergency medicine
Speaker 10: Last, are you adding GLP-1 capacity in the Elastomer business? Last, are you adding GLP-1 capacity in the Elastomer business? last are you adding glp-1 capacity in the elastomer business
Speaker 11: You know, we made substantial investments, and right now we got plenty of capacity, and we do have the ability to create additional capacity by just putting in additional equipment in the existing large building. You know, we made substantial investments, and right now we got plenty of capacity, and we do have the ability to create additional capacity by just putting in additional equipment in the existing large building. you know we made substantial investments and right now we got plenty of capacity and we do have the ability to create additional capacity by just putting in additional equipment in the existing large building
Speaker 10: Okay. Thank you. Okay. okay Thank you. thank you
Speaker 9: Your next question comes from the line of Ghansham Panjabi. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Ghansham Panjabi. your next question comes from the line of ghansham panjabi Please go ahead. please go ahead Your line is open. your line is open
Speaker 5: Yeah. Hi, good morning. Can you guys hear me okay? Yeah. yeah Hi, good morning. hi good morning Can you guys hear me okay? can you guys hear me okay
Speaker 11: Yeah. Hi, Ghansham. Yeah. yeah Hi, Ghansham. hi ghansham
Speaker 5: Okay. Terrific. Good morning. Congrats to you, Stephan, first off, on a great run and to you as well, Gael. Our team wishes you the very best in your new role. I guess first off on the, you know, the Rx component, I think you said down 5% excluding the naloxone destock, if you will. You know, you call that tough comps from a year ago in the first quarter 2025, but the comp for 2Q is also pretty tough from what I remember. I think it was up 10%. Okay. okay Terrific. terrific Good morning. good morning Congrats to you, Stephan, first off, on a great run and to you as well, Gael. congrats to you stephan first off on a great run and to you as well gael Our team wishes you the very best in your new role. our team wishes you the very best in your new role I guess first off on the, you know, the Rx component, I think you said down 5% excluding the naloxone destock, if you will. i guess first off on the you know the rx component i think you said down 5% excluding the naloxone destock if you will You know, you call that tough comps from a year ago in the first quarter 2025, but the comp for 2Q is also pretty tough from what I remember. you know you call that tough comps from a year ago in the first quarter 2025 but the comp for 2q is also pretty tough from what i remember I think it was up 10%. i think it was up 10%
Speaker 11: Mm-hmm Mm-hmm mm-hmm
Speaker 5: ... in 1Q 2025 and +8% in 2Q. What is the expectation for Rx ex naloxone in 2Q? You know, I know you don't give specific guidance, but do you expect it to grow year-over-year based on the tough comp as well? ... in 1Q 2025 and +8% in 2Q. in 1q 2025 and +8% in 2q What is the expectation for Rx ex naloxone in 2Q? what is the expectation for rx ex naloxone in 2q You know, I know you don't give specific guidance, but do you expect it to grow year-over-year based on the tough comp as well? you know i know you don't give specific guidance but do you expect it to grow year-over-year based on the tough comp as well
Speaker 11: Thanks for the congrats, and the short answer is yes. Yes, the comps are also demanding if you want in Q2, but we expect very solid growth for Rx in Q2 and excluding emergency medicine, of course. Yeah. Thanks for the congrats, and the short answer is yes. thanks for the congrats and the short answer is yes Yes, the comps are also demanding if you want in Q2, but we expect very solid growth for Rx in Q2 and excluding emergency medicine, of course. yes the comps are also demanding if you want in q2 but we expect very solid growth for rx in q2 and excluding emergency medicine of course Yeah. yeah
Speaker 5: Okay. Thank you for that. Consumer, you know, you said plus 4% in 1Q 2026. From what I remember last year, you know, you had a pretty easy comparison, just given the destock that was occurring In certain, whatever it was, cough and cold, et cetera. Was that in line with your plan in terms of consumer? If I could just ask a broader question as relates to some of the comments about, you know, supply chain uncertainty, and was there any benefit in any parts of your businesses across the portfolio as it relates to any sort of pre-buy just given customer uncertainty as relates to supply chain, et cetera? Thank you. Okay. okay Thank you for that. thank you for that Consumer, you know, you said plus 4% in 1Q 2026. consumer you know you said plus 4% in 1q 2026 From what I remember last year, you know, you had a pretty easy comparison, just given the destock that was occurring In certain, whatever it was, cough and cold, et cetera. from what i remember last year you know you had a pretty easy comparison just given the destock that was occurring in certain whatever it was cough and cold et cetera Was that in line with your plan in terms of consumer? was that in line with your plan in terms of consumer If I could just ask a broader question as relates to some of the comments about, you know, supply chain uncertainty, and was there any benefit in any parts of your businesses across the portfolio as it relates to any sort of pre-buy just given customer uncertainty as relates to supply chain, et cetera? if i could just ask a broader question as relates to some of the comments about you know supply chain uncertainty and was there any benefit in any parts of your businesses across the portfolio as it relates to any sort of pre-buy just given customer uncertainty as relates to supply chain et cetera Thank you. thank you
Speaker 11: Yeah. Let me take the second one, and then Gael, maybe you can comment on consumer healthcare growth. We really don't see a lot of pre-buying, and to be perfectly honest, with the bounce back of demand, there's several product lines that, you know, we couldn't even fulfill the demand of pre-buying, so it's rather limited. I understand the question. Consumer healthcare, Gael? Yeah. yeah Let me take the second one, and then Gael, maybe you can comment on consumer healthcare growth. let me take the second one and then gael maybe you can comment on consumer healthcare growth We really don't see a lot of pre-buying, and to be perfectly honest, with the bounce back of demand, there's several product lines that, you know, we couldn't even fulfill the demand of pre-buying, so it's rather limited. we really don't see a lot of pre-buying and to be perfectly honest with the bounce back of demand there's several product lines that you know we couldn't even fulfill the demand of pre-buying so it's rather limited I understand the question. i understand the question Consumer healthcare, Gael? consumer healthcare gael
Speaker 3: Yeah, consumer healthcare, I mean, we are back on a positive trend for some quarters in a row after a good Q4. It's in line with expectation. We continue to get a very strong ophthalmic business with a good pipeline conversion. Dermal drugs is doing well. From a cough and cold, I mean, we are, we've seen the end of the inventory adjustments, and we know that in certain countries, I mean, that was a low cold and flu season, especially in the U.S. Yeah, consumer healthcare, I mean, we are back on a positive trend for some quarters in a row after a good Q4. yeah consumer healthcare i mean we are back on a positive trend for some quarters in a row after a good q4 It's in line with expectation. it's in line with expectation We continue to get a very strong ophthalmic business with a good pipeline conversion. we continue to get a very strong ophthalmic business with a good pipeline conversion Dermal drugs is doing well. dermal drugs is doing well From a cough and cold, I mean, we are, we've seen the end of the inventory adjustments, and we know that in certain countries, I mean, that was a low cold and flu season, especially in the U.S. from a cough and cold i mean we are we've seen the end of the inventory adjustments and we know that in certain countries i mean that was a low cold and flu season especially in the u.s
Speaker 11: Yeah. Yeah. yeah
Speaker 5: Okay. Terrific. Thanks again. Congrats to you both again. Okay. okay Terrific. terrific Thanks again. thanks again Congrats to you both again. congrats to you both again
Speaker 11: Thank you, Ghansham Panjabi. Thank you, Ghansham Panjabi. thank you ghansham panjabi
Speaker 3: Thanks. Thanks. thanks
Speaker 9: Your next question comes from the line of George Staphos at Bank of America Securities. Your line is open. Go ahead. Your next question comes from the line of George Staphos at Bank of America Securities. your next question comes from the line of george staphos at bank of america securities Your line is open. your line is open Go ahead. go ahead
Speaker 4: Thanks so much. Hi, everyone. Good morning. Congrats to Gael and to Stephan. Again, we'll save the roast for July. Congrats on the quarter too. I point of clarification to Ghansham's question, I'm sorry, 'cause I'm doing dual calls here. Did you say pharma will grow even with the impact from emergency medicines, or just RX will grow ex the eMed impact? How should we think about that? Then I'll- Thanks so much. thanks so much Hi, everyone. hi everyone Good morning. good morning Congrats to Gael and to Stephan. congrats to gael and to stephan Again, we'll save the roast for July. again we'll save the roast for july Congrats on the quarter too. congrats on the quarter too I point of clarification to Ghansham's question, I'm sorry, 'cause I'm doing dual calls here. i point of clarification to ghansham's question i'm sorry 'cause i'm doing dual calls here Did you say pharma will grow even with the impact from emergency medicines, or just RX will grow ex the eMed impact? did you say pharma will grow even with the impact from emergency medicines or just rx will grow ex the emed impact How should we think about that? how should we think about that Then I'll- then i'll-
Speaker 11: Yeah, it's the latter one. Yeah, it's the latter one. yeah it's the latter one
Speaker 4: go to the closures question. go to the closures question. go to the closures question
Speaker 11: It's the latter one. It's the latter one. it's the latter one
Speaker 4: Got it. Got it. got it
Speaker 11: we just wanted to highlight, and I know you all took a lot of comfort that Pharma ex emergency medicine grew 10% in quarter four, and it's a little bit less this quarter, but we expect, again, good growth in quarter two. Don't read too much into a single quarter here. we just wanted to highlight, and I know you all took a lot of comfort that Pharma ex emergency medicine grew 10% in quarter four, and it's a little bit less this quarter, but we expect, again, good growth in quarter two. we just wanted to highlight and i know you all took a lot of comfort that pharma ex emergency medicine grew 10% in quarter four and it's a little bit less this quarter but we expect again good growth in quarter two Don't read too much into a single quarter here. don't read too much into a single quarter here
Speaker 4: Okay. Growth in pharma ex eMed. Okay. okay Growth in pharma ex eMed. growth in pharma ex emed
Speaker 11: Correct. Correct. correct
Speaker 4: Got it. My question's just one on pharma and one on closures. Stephan, Gael, is there any thought in terms of what you're seeing with GLP-1s, recognizing it's not a huge driver of your business, that nonetheless maybe there's some pipeline filling occurring somewhere? How do you know, work against or peer into that if that's a risk? Got it. got it My question's just one on pharma and one on closures. my question's just one on pharma and one on closures Stephan, Gael, is there any thought in terms of what you're seeing with GLP-1s, recognizing it's not a huge driver of your business, that nonetheless maybe there's some pipeline filling occurring somewhere? stephan gael is there any thought in terms of what you're seeing with glp-1s recognizing it's not a huge driver of your business that nonetheless maybe there's some pipeline filling occurring somewhere How do you know, work against or peer into that if that's a risk? how do you know work against or peer into that if that's a risk Then on closures, when do you expect that we'll be back to normal margins in this segment? Are you seeing any kind of uptake because of maybe a little bit stronger than expected barbecue season because of America 250? Are any of your customers talking about that, or is that at this juncture, "It'd be nice, but we're not baking it in"? Thanks, guys. Then on closures, when do you expect that we'll be back to normal margins in this segment? then on closures when do you expect that we'll be back to normal margins in this segment Are you seeing any kind of uptake because of maybe a little bit stronger than expected barbecue season because of America 250? are you seeing any kind of uptake because of maybe a little bit stronger than expected barbecue season because of america 250 Are any of your customers talking about that, or is that at this juncture, "It'd be nice, but we're not baking it in"? are any of your customers talking about that or is that at this juncture "it'd be nice but we're not baking it in" Thanks, guys. thanks guys
Speaker 11: All right. I haven't heard the America 250, although it's a worthy cause to celebrate, that's for sure. Let's all have some barbecues on that. Coming back on GLP-1, I mean, demand is very strong. I still hear anecdotally that consumers have to wait, not for weeks, but maybe a few days, to get their prescription filled. You all saw Lilly's very strong result with Zepbound, I think, being up 80% or so. Clearly, as people see other people losing weight, they wanna get in on the fun, and there is strong demand for the product. Gael, do you hear anything about pipeline build? All right. all right I haven't heard the America 250, although it's a worthy cause to celebrate, that's for sure. i haven't heard the america 250 although it's a worthy cause to celebrate that's for sure Let's all have some barbecues on that. let's all have some barbecues on that Coming back on GLP-1, I mean, demand is very strong. coming back on glp-1 i mean demand is very strong I still hear anecdotally that consumers have to wait, not for weeks, but maybe a few days, to get their prescription filled. i still hear anecdotally that consumers have to wait not for weeks but maybe a few days to get their prescription filled You all saw Lilly's very strong result with Zepbound, I think, being up 80% or so. you all saw lilly's very strong result with zepbound i think being up 80% or so Clearly, as people see other people losing weight, they wanna get in on the fun, and there is strong demand for the product. clearly as people see other people losing weight they wanna get in on the fun and there is strong demand for the product Gael, do you hear anything about pipeline build? gael do you hear anything about pipeline build
Speaker 3: Well, there's a very healthy pipeline, I mean, as we speak because obviously it's attracting a lot of players. Well, there's a very healthy pipeline, I mean, as we speak because obviously it's attracting a lot of players. well there's a very healthy pipeline i mean as we speak because obviously it's attracting a lot of players
Speaker 11: No, I mean inventory build. No, I mean inventory build. no i mean inventory build
Speaker 3: No, no. There's no inventory there. I mean, this is not at all what we are hearing from our customers. No, no. no no There's no inventory there. there's no inventory there I mean, this is not at all what we are hearing from our customers. i mean this is not at all what we are hearing from our customers
Speaker 11: On, on closures, let me start and maybe Vanessa, also jump in. Clearly, you know, let me not beat around the bush, disappointed with some of the maintenance issues that we had, and the two dozen tornado warnings that we got on our phones in the Midwest haven't helped, as we had to shut down plants and people take shelter, adding up to 11 days. My expectation would be for the second half, for closure to return to normal margins, but I look to you, Vanessa. On, on closures, let me start and maybe Vanessa, also jump in. on on closures let me start and maybe vanessa also jump in Clearly, you know, let me not beat around the bush, disappointed with some of the maintenance issues that we had, and the two dozen tornado warnings that we got on our phones in the Midwest haven't helped, as we had to shut down plants and people take shelter, adding up to 11 days. clearly you know let me not beat around the bush disappointed with some of the maintenance issues that we had and the two dozen tornado warnings that we got on our phones in the midwest haven't helped as we had to shut down plants and people take shelter adding up to 11 days My expectation would be for the second half, for closure to return to normal margins, but I look to you, Vanessa. my expectation would be for the second half for closure to return to normal margins but i look to you vanessa
Speaker 12: Absolutely, Stephan. You're absolutely right. I don't think I have much more to add to that. We did have some challenges, which I did call out in my prepared remarks. We do expect to see sequential margin improvements in closures, and that's baked into our guidance. Absolutely, Stephan. absolutely stephan You're absolutely right. you're absolutely right I don't think I have much more to add to that. i don't think i have much more to add to that We did have some challenges, which I did call out in my prepared remarks. we did have some challenges which i did call out in my prepared remarks We do expect to see sequential margin improvements in closures, and that's baked into our guidance. we do expect to see sequential margin improvements in closures and that's baked into our guidance
Speaker 4: Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you, Stephan. Thank you, Gael. I'll turn it over. Thank you, Vanessa. thank you vanessa Thank you, Stephan. thank you stephan Thank you, Gael. thank you gael I'll turn it over. i'll turn it over
Speaker 9: Your next line comes from Matt Roberts at Raymond James. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Your next line comes from Matt Roberts at Raymond James. your next line comes from matt roberts at raymond james Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 8: Stephan, Vanessa, and Mary, good morning. Emergency, just coming back to that, the 3-point headwind in 1Q, give that on a $ amount as well, or maybe my Friday morning calculator is broken, so just a sanity check, as it seems a bit lower. How did emergency growth specifically compare in 2Q 2025 to 1Q 2025? Any other considerations within the Pharma category that decelerated in 1Q worth mentioning? I noticed asthma, COPD wasn't in the prepared remarks, just seeing if anything else was going on there. Stephan, Vanessa, and Mary, good morning. stephan vanessa and mary good morning Emergency, just coming back to that, the 3-point headwind in 1Q, give that on a $ amount as well, or maybe my Friday morning calculator is broken, so just a sanity check, as it seems a bit lower. emergency just coming back to that the 3-point headwind in 1q give that on a $ amount as well or maybe my friday morning calculator is broken so just a sanity check as it seems a bit lower How did emergency growth specifically compare in 2Q 2025 to 1Q 2025? how did emergency growth specifically compare in 2q 2025 to 1q 2025 Any other considerations within the Pharma category that decelerated in 1Q worth mentioning? any other considerations within the pharma category that decelerated in 1q worth mentioning I noticed asthma, COPD wasn't in the prepared remarks, just seeing if anything else was going on there. i noticed asthma copd wasn't in the prepared remarks just seeing if anything else was going on there
Speaker 11: I think on your specific question, I would ask you to follow up with Mary. I think it's a very specific question that we probably don't have at our fingertips. In general, let's just reconfirm that the $65 million is still the right number. About two-thirds of the impact, we expect in the first half of this year, and the balance in the second half. By the time Q4 comes around, this should be almost washed out, and certainly with Q1 2027, we'll have a clean comparison. In the first half, the bulk of the $65 million will have been done. We feel now reasonably confident that this is the new level. I think on your specific question, I would ask you to follow up with Mary. i think on your specific question i would ask you to follow up with mary I think it's a very specific question that we probably don't have at our fingertips. i think it's a very specific question that we probably don't have at our fingertips In general, let's just reconfirm that the $65 million is still the right number. in general let's just reconfirm that the $65 million is still the right number About two-thirds of the impact, we expect in the first half of this year, and the balance in the second half. about two-thirds of the impact we expect in the first half of this year and the balance in the second half By the time Q4 comes around, this should be almost washed out, and certainly with Q1 2027, we'll have a clean comparison. by the time q4 comes around this should be almost washed out and certainly with q1 2027 we'll have a clean comparison In the first half, the bulk of the $65 million will have been done. in the first half the bulk of the $65 million will have been done We feel now reasonably confident that this is the new level. we feel now reasonably confident that this is the new level If you deduct the $65 million, this is the new level from which we expect to grow from, call it low to mid-single digits according to our customers. Other movements, I don't think we wanna get into those specifics. If you deduct the $65 million, this is the new level from which we expect to grow from, call it low to mid-single digits according to our customers. if you deduct the $65 million this is the new level from which we expect to grow from call it low to mid-single digits according to our customers Other movements, I don't think we wanna get into those specifics. other movements i don't think we wanna get into those specifics
Speaker 8: Great. I appreciate that, Stephan. While we're on pharma, the margin, while it was down, it was still within the range despite the mixed impact. I think down 1.5 points versus the 3 points we saw last quarter that had Narcan and emergency in there. Given what you saw in 4Q and 1Q, is the long-term range still achievable in 2026? How do you think about the progression through the year? In 1Q specifically, like I said, despite the mix was still within the range. Great. great I appreciate that, Stephan . i appreciate that stephan While we're on pharma, the margin, while it was down, it was still within the range despite the mixed impact. while we're on pharma the margin while it was down it was still within the range despite the mixed impact I think down 1.5 points versus the 3 points we saw last quarter that had Narcan and emergency in there. i think down 1.5 points versus the 3 points we saw last quarter that had narcan and emergency in there Given what you saw in 4Q and 1Q, is the long-term range still achievable in 2026? given what you saw in 4q and 1q is the long-term range still achievable in 2026 How do you think about the progression through the year? how do you think about the progression through the year In 1Q specifically, like I said, despite the mix was still within the range. in 1q specifically like i said despite the mix was still within the range Any other drivers of that, whether it was cost performance, was there any change in royalty revenues in the quarter, or injectable margins have improved that much? Just any color there on what you're seeing on the margin. Any other drivers of that, whether it was cost performance, was there any change in royalty revenues in the quarter, or injectable margins have improved that much? any other drivers of that whether it was cost performance was there any change in royalty revenues in the quarter or injectable margins have improved that much Just any color there on what you're seeing on the margin. just any color there on what you're seeing on the margin
Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean, look, Pharma is a great business and, of course, emergency medicine is very profitable, hence, a somewhat lower margin, but still within the range. To answer your first question, yeah, we do expect Pharma to be with its long-term EBITDA margin target for the year. As the year progresses, you know, to return with the top line growth. Yeah, I mean, look, Pharma is a great business and, of course, emergency medicine is very profitable, hence, a somewhat lower margin, but still within the range. yeah i mean look pharma is a great business and of course emergency medicine is very profitable hence a somewhat lower margin but still within the range To answer your first question, yeah, we do expect Pharma to be with its long-term EBITDA margin target for the year. to answer your first question yeah we do expect pharma to be with its long-term ebitda margin target for the year As the year progresses, you know, to return with the top line growth. as the year progresses you know to return with the top line growth I think we said also last time that we expect the company to be within its long-term EBITDA margin target for the year, which is usually, we don't give guidance for the year, but that is obviously a consequence of Pharma being there. Beyond that, I wouldn't say anything else. I think we said also last time that we expect the company to be within its long-term EBITDA margin target for the year, which is usually, we don't give guidance for the year, but that is obviously a consequence of Pharma being there. i think we said also last time that we expect the company to be within its long-term ebitda margin target for the year which is usually we don't give guidance for the year but that is obviously a consequence of pharma being there Beyond that, I wouldn't say anything else. beyond that i wouldn't say anything else
Speaker 12: Yeah. I think the only update I would add to that is as we look at sort of full year. Yeah. yeah I think the only update I would add to that is as we look at sort of full year. i think the only update i would add to that is as we look at sort of full year
Speaker 11: Yeah Yeah yeah
Speaker 12: this really relates to, you know, the pass-through of higher costs that we're seeing. I did mention this in my prepared remarks, that as we pass on these costs, it does have a compression impact on margin percentage. clearly our focus is to neutralize the dollars impact on our bottom line. you might see, you know, at the segment level of some compression, based on the pass-through of these costs. this really relates to, you know, the pass-through of higher costs that we're seeing. this really relates to you know the pass-through of higher costs that we're seeing I did mention this in my prepared remarks, that as we pass on these costs, it does have a compression impact on margin percentage. clearly our focus is to neutralize the dollars impact on our bottom line. you might see, you know, at the segment level of some compression, based on the pass-through of these costs. i did mention this in my prepared remarks that as we pass on these costs it does have a compression impact on margin percentage clearly our focus is to neutralize the dollars impact on our bottom line you might see you know at the segment level of some compression based on the pass-through of these costs
Speaker 8: That makes sense, Vanessa. Thank you again. That makes sense, Vanessa. that makes sense vanessa Thank you again. thank you again
Speaker 9: Your next question comes from the line of Matt Larew at William Blair. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Your next question comes from the line of Matt Larew at William Blair. your next question comes from the line of matt larew at william blair Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 7: Good morning, everyone. Maybe just following up on the margin point. You know, the six prior quarters, before sort of the emergency med destock occurred, you know, corporate gross margins averaged around 38%. And then obviously the last couple quarters below that, because of the destock, you've also had, as you referenced, the operational issues in beauty and closures. All of those things, as we get into the back half, are improving. Just is it fair to think that you can get back to that range for corporate gross margins by Q3 or Q4? Good morning, everyone. good morning everyone Maybe just following up on the margin point. maybe just following up on the margin point You know, the six prior quarters, before sort of the emergency med destock occurred, you know, corporate gross margins averaged around 38%. you know the six prior quarters before sort of the emergency med destock occurred you know corporate gross margins averaged around 38% And then obviously the last couple quarters below that, because of the destock, you've also had, as you referenced, the operational issues in beauty and closures. and then obviously the last couple quarters below that because of the destock you've also had as you referenced the operational issues in beauty and closures All of those things, as we get into the back half, are improving. all of those things as we get into the back half are improving Just is it fair to think that you can get back to that range for corporate gross margins by Q3 or Q4? just is it fair to think that you can get back to that range for corporate gross margins by q3 or q4
Speaker 12: Yeah. I mean, Matt, we're guiding for Q2. We're not guiding for Q3, Q4. I think directionally, that all aligns to what Stephan just shared and what we shared on the last call as well. Really it's a gross margin story. Yeah. yeah I mean, Matt, we're guiding for Q2. i mean matt we're guiding for q2 We're not guiding for Q3, Q4. we're not guiding for q3 q4 I think directionally, that all aligns to what Stephan just shared and what we shared on the last call as well. i think directionally that all aligns to what stephan just shared and what we shared on the last call as well Really it's a gross margin story. really it's a gross margin story The overall EBITDA margin impact is a gross margin story because you would have seen in Q1 we're pretty tight from an SG&A perspective. No issues there. You know, it's really gross margins, right? Which is coming from the mix impact, which is coming from the operational issues that we've had to deal with in beauty and closures. All of those will start to sequentially improve starting in Q2. Directionally, you're absolutely right. The overall EBITDA margin impact is a gross margin story because you would have seen in Q1 we're pretty tight from an SG&A perspective. the overall ebitda margin impact is a gross margin story because you would have seen in q1 we're pretty tight from an sg&a perspective No issues there. no issues there You know, it's really gross margins, right? you know it's really gross margins right Which is coming from the mix impact, which is coming from the operational issues that we've had to deal with in beauty and closures. which is coming from the mix impact which is coming from the operational issues that we've had to deal with in beauty and closures All of those will start to sequentially improve starting in Q2. all of those will start to sequentially improve starting in q2 Directionally, you're absolutely right. directionally you're absolutely right
Speaker 7: Maybe just following up on the kind of operational issues, the maintenance, which is something sort of you can control, and the fire at one of your suppliers, which is something you can't control as much. Would be curious how those progressed in the quarter and I guess what your expectation is to when you'll be closing the loop on those things. Maybe just following up on the kind of operational issues, the maintenance, which is something sort of you can control, and the fire at one of your suppliers, which is something you can't control as much. maybe just following up on the kind of operational issues the maintenance which is something sort of you can control and the fire at one of your suppliers which is something you can't control as much Would be curious how those progressed in the quarter and I guess what your expectation is to when you'll be closing the loop on those things. would be curious how those progressed in the quarter and i guess what your expectation is to when you'll be closing the loop on those things
Speaker 11: Yeah. I can only repeat what we said earlier. I certainly expect in the second half for these issues, both in beauty and in closures to have passed with sequential improvements. Yeah. yeah I can only repeat what we said earlier. i can only repeat what we said earlier I certainly expect in the second half for these issues, both in beauty and in closures to have passed with sequential improvements. i certainly expect in the second half for these issues both in beauty and in closures to have passed with sequential improvements
Speaker 7: All right. Thank you. All right. all right Thank you. thank you
Speaker 9: Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Rizzo at Jefferies. Your line's open. Please go ahead. Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Rizzo at Jefferies. your next question comes from the line of daniel rizzo at jefferies Your line's open. your line's open Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 1: Hey, guys. Thank you for taking my questions. Just on the Narcan, I was wondering if, you know, after we get through this initial kind of destock or this issue, if over the long term we're gonna see this again where emergency services or buyers of this product kind of reload, so to speak, and you see a huge surge and then it kind of flattened and then it declines. Is it gonna be lumpy like that, or is it just, I don't know, just over-ordering the first go-round? How should we think about it? Hey, guys. hey guys Thank you for taking my questions. thank you for taking my questions Just on the Narcan, I was wondering if, you know, after we get through this initial kind of destock or this issue, if over the long term we're gonna see this again where emergency services or buyers of this product kind of reload, so to speak, and you see a huge surge and then it kind of flattened and then it declines. just on the narcan i was wondering if you know after we get through this initial kind of destock or this issue if over the long term we're gonna see this again where emergency services or buyers of this product kind of reload so to speak and you see a huge surge and then it kind of flattened and then it declines Is it gonna be lumpy like that, or is it just, I don't know, just over-ordering the first go-round? is it gonna be lumpy like that or is it just, i don't know just over-ordering the first go-round How should we think about it? how should we think about it
Speaker 11: Yeah. Hi, Dan. I certainly would expect the first one. I mean, this is such a unique set of circumstances where you have the originator more than a handful of generics over-the-counter approval and all this money from the settlements converging on this inhalation or everybody getting ready to do battle to win contracts. Now it's a much more, not organized, but it's a competitive market. You know, people win one state, lose another state. I don't see the same kind of dynamics repeating. Yeah. yeah Hi, Dan. hi dan I certainly would expect the first one. i certainly would expect the first one I mean, this is such a unique set of circumstances where you have the originator more than a handful of generics over-the-counter approval and all this money from the settlements converging on this inhalation or everybody getting ready to do battle to win contracts. i mean this is such a unique set of circumstances where you have the originator more than a handful of generics over-the-counter approval and all this money from the settlements converging on this inhalation or everybody getting ready to do battle to win contracts Now it's a much more, not organized, but it's a competitive market. now it's a much more not organized but it's a competitive market You know, people win one state, lose another state. you know people win one state lose another state I don't see the same kind of dynamics repeating. i don't see the same kind of dynamics repeating Now, will you have lumpiness? I'm sure. You know, there's no business where you don't have that, and this one has less visibility than most because we can't track inventory levels at the end user. Since, you know, we have 50 states being in this game, there should be some evening out, and you have more than 12 competitors. That should even out. I don't expect this kind of magnitude. I shouldn't say ever again, but in the foreseeable future. Now, will you have lumpiness? now will you have lumpiness I'm sure. i'm sure You know, there's no business where you don't have that, and this one has less visibility than most because we can't track inventory levels at the end user. you know there's no business where you don't have that and this one has less visibility than most because we can't track inventory levels at the end user Since, you know, we have 50 states being in this game, there should be some evening out, and you have more than 12 competitors. since you know we have 50 states being in this game there should be some evening out and you have more than 12 competitors That should even out. that should even out I don't expect this kind of magnitude. i don't expect this kind of magnitude I shouldn't say ever again, but in the foreseeable future. i shouldn't say ever again but in the foreseeable future
Speaker 1: Okay. No, that's helpful, and that's kind of what I assumed. Okay. okay No, that's helpful, and that's kind of what I assumed. no that's helpful and that's kind of what i assumed
Speaker 11: Yeah. Yeah. yeah
Speaker 1: You mentioned that there was no pre-buying for amongst your customers. I was wondering if you guys have stocked your own inventories or are planning to just to kind of, I don't know, smooth things out and make sure that you have security of supply given the volatility with logistics, with input costs, and with everything? You mentioned that there was no pre-buying for amongst your customers. you mentioned that there was no pre-buying for amongst your customers I was wondering if you guys have stocked your own inventories or are planning to just to kind of, I don't know, smooth things out and make sure that you have security of supply given the volatility with logistics, with input costs, and with everything? i was wondering if you guys have stocked your own inventories or are planning to just to kind of i don't know smooth things out and make sure that you have security of supply given the volatility with logistics with input costs and with everything
Speaker 12: Yes, Dan. Absolutely. Our purchasing teams, our supply chain teams are managing this very, very tightly. Securing safety of supply. Looking at, you know, obviously, you know, how do we balance geographically, and monitoring even the health of some of our suppliers, just to see what the impacts of rising energy costs may have on those suppliers' overall health. Yes, Dan. yes dan Absolutely. absolutely Our purchasing teams, our supply chain teams are managing this very, very tightly. our purchasing teams our supply chain teams are managing this very very tightly Securing safety of supply. securing safety of supply Looking at, you know, obviously, you know, how do we balance geographically, and monitoring even the health of some of our suppliers, just to see what the impacts of rising energy costs may have on those suppliers' overall health. looking at you know obviously you know how do we balance geographically and monitoring even the health of some of our suppliers just to see what the impacts of rising energy costs may have on those suppliers' overall health We will actually increase some of our safety stocks. I do expect that we'll see, you know, a bit of a trend in rising inventory. For all of the right reasons and done intentionally to make sure that we're well managed through the middle of this crisis and its longer-term impacts. We will actually increase some of our safety stocks. we will actually increase some of our safety stocks I do expect that we'll see, you know, a bit of a trend in rising inventory. i do expect that we'll see you know a bit of a trend in rising inventory For all of the right reasons and done intentionally to make sure that we're well managed through the middle of this crisis and its longer-term impacts. for all of the right reasons and done intentionally to make sure that we're well managed through the middle of this crisis and its longer-term impacts
Speaker 1: Can you remind me, did you have to do that after COVID, like the COVID logistical issues after COVID? Was this something similar kind of unfold? Can you remind me, did you have to do that after COVID, like the COVID logistical issues after COVID? can you remind me did you have to do that after covid like the covid logistical issues after covid Was this something similar kind of unfold? was this something similar kind of unfold
Speaker 11: Not really, that I can remember. Remember the main challenges in COVID were U.S. labor availability as we came out of COVID, and people still had government money in their pockets and weren't really coming back into manufacturing. Europe, companies kept running because the companies had the support from the government, not the individuals. It returned pretty smoothly. It's very different. Not really, that I can remember. not really that i can remember Remember the main challenges in COVID were U.S. labor availability as we came out of COVID, and people still had government money in their pockets and weren't really coming back into manufacturing. remember the main challenges in covid were u.s labor availability as we came out of covid and people still had government money in their pockets and weren't really coming back into manufacturing Europe, companies kept running because the companies had the support from the government, not the individuals. europe companies kept running because the companies had the support from the government not the individuals It returned pretty smoothly. it returned pretty smoothly It's very different. it's very different
Speaker 1: All right. Thank you very much. All right. all right Thank you very much. thank you very much
Speaker 9: A reminder, if you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. The next question comes from the line of Gabe Hajde from Wells Fargo. Please go ahead. A reminder, if you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star one on your telephone keypad. a reminder if you'd like to ask a question during this time simply press star one on your telephone keypad If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. if you would like to withdraw your question press star one again The next question comes from the line of Gabe Hajde from Wells Fargo. the next question comes from the line of gabe hajde from wells fargo Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 2: Stephan, Gael, Mary, Vanessa, good morning. I wanted to ask about active this quarter. I know you guys talked about probiotics, and I think another headwind for test strips. On a go-forward basis, I know we're talking a lot about GLP-1 for injectables, but I think there's some solutions that you all have for oral solid dose of GLP-1. Anything that you can highlight in that arena for us? Stephan, Gael, Mary, Vanessa, good morning. stephan gael mary vanessa good morning I wanted to ask about active this quarter. i wanted to ask about active this quarter I know you guys talked about probiotics, and I think another headwind for test strips. i know you guys talked about probiotics and i think another headwind for test strips On a go-forward basis, I know we're talking a lot about GLP-1 for injectables, but I think there's some solutions that you all have for oral solid dose of GLP-1. on a go-forward basis i know we're talking a lot about glp-1 for injectables but i think there's some solutions that you all have for oral solid dose of glp-1 Anything that you can highlight in that arena for us? anything that you can highlight in that arena for us
Speaker 11: Yeah. I certainly would not put too much into active film, which is, you know, the kind of the film that goes into the blisters of, let's say, sensitive drugs, in the GLP-1 drugs. I think it's too early. I know we have one in the pipeline here, but it's too early to kinda make any calculations on that. I think the active material business is has very exciting pipeline. For example, on nitrosamine reduction, that is a much bigger topic that the FDA is cracking down on, and we're maybe the only solution where you can reduce your nitrosamine and not change anything else. Yeah. yeah I certainly would not put too much into active film, which is, you know, the kind of the film that goes into the blisters of, let's say, sensitive drugs, in the GLP-1 drugs. i certainly would not put too much into active film which is you know the kind of the film that goes into the blisters of let's say sensitive drugs in the glp-1 drugs I think it's too early. i think it's too early I know we have one in the pipeline here, but it's too early to kinda make any calculations on that. i know we have one in the pipeline here but it's too early to kinda make any calculations on that I think the active material business is has very exciting pipeline. i think the active material business is has very exciting pipeline For example, on nitrosamine reduction, that is a much bigger topic that the FDA is cracking down on, and we're maybe the only solution where you can reduce your nitrosamine and not change anything else. for example on nitrosamine reduction that is a much bigger topic that the fda is cracking down on and we're maybe the only solution where you can reduce your nitrosamine and not change anything else I think the other dynamic that played out this quarter is that the further transition from, you know, the finger prick with diabetes test strips, where we make the vial for the test strips to more flash glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring. As you know, we are involved with Abbott's Libre and Lingo. It's more of a matter, you know, the decline of the first one or the growth of the second one, how this balances out in any given quarter. Overall, we continue to be bullish about active material. I wouldn't hang it on oral GLP-1. I think the other dynamic that played out this quarter is that the further transition from, you know, the finger prick with diabetes test strips, where we make the vial for the test strips to more flash glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring. i think the other dynamic that played out this quarter is that the further transition from you know the finger prick with diabetes test strips where we make the vial for the test strips to more flash glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring As you know, we are involved with Abbott's Libre and Lingo. as you know we are involved with abbott's libre and lingo It's more of a matter, you know, the decline of the first one or the growth of the second one, how this balances out in any given quarter. it's more of a matter you know the decline of the first one or the growth of the second one how this balances out in any given quarter Overall, we continue to be bullish about active material. overall we continue to be bullish about active material I wouldn't hang it on oral GLP-1. i wouldn't hang it on oral glp-1
Speaker 2: Understood. Vanessa, I don't think you called out a specific headwind, and I, generally speaking, historically, you all have, been able to catch up pretty quick on price cost headwinds. Is there something specifically baked into Q2, on resin lags or anything else on transports, et cetera, that you're behind on that you would expect to get back in the second half? Understood. understood Vanessa, I don't think you called out a specific headwind, and I, generally speaking, historically, you all have, been able to catch up pretty quick on price cost headwinds. vanessa i don't think you called out a specific headwind and i generally speaking historically you all have been able to catch up pretty quick on price cost headwinds Is there something specifically baked into Q2, on resin lags or anything else on transports, et cetera, that you're behind on that you would expect to get back in the second half? is there something specifically baked into q2 on resin lags or anything else on transports et cetera that you're behind on that you would expect to get back in the second half
Speaker 12: Not anything material to call out, Gabe. Yes, so I'll go back and just start with yes, of course, we are gonna see the impact of rising resin prices. We've already been feeling that in our business. Our closures business is actually where we see the biggest impact from a segment perspective, but of course it does impact all segments. Closures, we are generally protected by indexation. Not anything material to call out, Gabe. not anything material to call out gabe Yes, so I'll go back and just start with yes, of course, we are gonna see the impact of rising resin prices. yes so i'll go back and just start with yes of course we are gonna see the impact of rising resin prices We've already been feeling that in our business. we've already been feeling that in our business Our closures business is actually where we see the biggest impact from a segment perspective, but of course it does impact all segments. our closures business is actually where we see the biggest impact from a segment perspective but of course it does impact all segments Closures, we are generally protected by indexation. closures we are generally protected by indexation Beauty and pharma, a little bit less so, but even there we pass it on to customers. We've done that, you know, in other periods of rising costs, you know. This is something that we have a good muscle for. In terms of impacts to Q2, we've already started with those cost passthroughs. We don't expect any net material impacts to our overall Q2 results, and that's already baked into our guidance. Beauty and pharma, a little bit less so, but even there we pass it on to customers. beauty and pharma a little bit less so but even there we pass it on to customers We've done that, you know, in other periods of rising costs, you know. we've done that you know in other periods of rising costs you know This is something that we have a good muscle for. this is something that we have a good muscle for In terms of impacts to Q2, we've already started with those cost passthroughs. in terms of impacts to q2 we've already started with those cost passthroughs We don't expect any net material impacts to our overall Q2 results, and that's already baked into our guidance. we don't expect any net material impacts to our overall q2 results and that's already baked into our guidance
Speaker 2: Okay, perfect. I guess that's good to see. The last one was you did mention in an answer to a prior question about maybe yourselves building a little bit of safety stock. Is that on the raw material side, finished goods side? I'm just thinking about overhead absorption to the extent that things deescalate here and we're, I don't know, nine months from now, that you may be under-producing in some product lines. Just curious if there's anything specific. I think, Stephan, that you may have mentioned where you're, like I said, building up a little bit of safety net. Okay, perfect. okay perfect I guess that's good to see. i guess that's good to see The last one was you did mention in an answer to a prior question about maybe yourselves building a little bit of safety stock. the last one was you did mention in an answer to a prior question about maybe yourselves building a little bit of safety stock Is that on the raw material side, finished goods side? is that on the raw material side finished goods side I'm just thinking about overhead absorption to the extent that things deescalate here and we're, I don't know, nine months from now, that you may be under-producing in some product lines. i'm just thinking about overhead absorption to the extent that things deescalate here and we're i don't know nine months from now that you may be under-producing in some product lines Just curious if there's anything specific. just curious if there's anything specific I think, Stephan, that you may have mentioned where you're, like I said, building up a little bit of safety net. i think stephan that you may have mentioned where you're like i said building up a little bit of safety net
Speaker 12: Yeah, no, that's on the raw material side. You know, just to make sure that, you know, we don't run out of any critical inputs. Yeah, no, that's on the raw material side. yeah no that's on the raw material side You know, just to make sure that, you know, we don't run out of any critical inputs. you know just to make sure that you know we don't run out of any critical inputs
Speaker 2: Okay. Thank you. Okay. okay Thank you. thank you
Speaker 12: Thanks, Gabe. Thanks, Gabe. thanks gabe
Speaker 9: Your next question comes from George Staphos at the Bank of America Securities. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Your next question comes from George Staphos at the Bank of America Securities. your next question comes from george staphos at the bank of america securities Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead
Speaker 4: Hi. Thanks, everyone. Just a couple of quick ones. First of all, Vanessa, if you'd mentioned it, I'd missed it. Can you talk about what the minority investment write-off was? You know, what the amount was, and what was behind it. You know, with the discussion on closures, and obviously you're managing through operating issues and you'll resolve them in the second half. Hi. hi Thanks, everyone. thanks everyone Just a couple of quick ones. just a couple of quick ones First of all, Vanessa, if you'd mentioned it, I'd missed it. first of all vanessa if you'd mentioned it i'd missed it Can you talk about what the minority investment write-off was? can you talk about what the minority investment write-off was You know, what the amount was, and what was behind it. you know what the amount was and what was behind it You know, with the discussion on closures, and obviously you're managing through operating issues and you'll resolve them in the second half. you know with the discussion on closures and obviously you're managing through operating issues and you'll resolve them in the second half Can you remind us how the Lincolnton plant's been doing? You know, I know that goes back over 10 years, but how has that performed after you put it up for food and beverage? In general, how do you view your operating network in closures now, and how's Lincolnton doing in particular? Thank you, and good luck in the quarter. Can you remind us how the Lincolnton plant's been doing? can you remind us how the lincolnton plant's been doing You know, I know that goes back over 10 years, but how has that performed after you put it up for food and beverage? you know i know that goes back over 10 years but how has that performed after you put it up for food and beverage In general, how do you view your operating network in closures now, and how's Lincolnton doing in particular? in general how do you view your operating network in closures now and how's lincolnton doing in particular Thank you, and good luck in the quarter. thank you and good luck in the quarter
Speaker 11: Let me start with Lincolnton and then, Vanessa, maybe you can address the other question. Lincolnton is doing fine. Like any other plant, it has sometimes an issue here and there, but overall, it has grown up to be a good performing plant. It had also some of the weather issues that we talked about. It wasn't just in the Midwest, also in the South. I think we had some snow there. Other than that, actually, quite happy with Lincolnton. Some of the maintenance issues we talked about are actually more in the Wisconsin plant. Vanessa, maybe you talk about the venturing. Let me start with Lincolnton and then, Vanessa, maybe you can address the other question. let me start with lincolnton and then vanessa maybe you can address the other question Lincolnton is doing fine. lincolnton is doing fine Like any other plant, it has sometimes an issue here and there, but overall, it has grown up to be a good performing plant. like any other plant it has sometimes an issue here and there but overall it has grown up to be a good performing plant It had also some of the weather issues that we talked about. it had also some of the weather issues that we talked about It wasn't just in the Midwest, also in the South. it wasn't just in the midwest also in the south I think we had some snow there. i think we had some snow there Other than that, actually, quite happy with Lincolnton. other than that actually quite happy with lincolnton Some of the maintenance issues we talked about are actually more in the Wisconsin plant. some of the maintenance issues we talked about are actually more in the wisconsin plant Vanessa, maybe you talk about the venturing. vanessa maybe you talk about the venturing
Speaker 12: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. George, I didn't talk too much about it in my remarks. I commented that there was, you know, additionally a write-off of a minority in investments. It was not the most material item. You know, Stephan just mentioned the maintenance challenges, the weather issues, and this was yet another factor that impacted closures unfortunately, you know, negatively in the quarter. It was not a big amount. It was a minority investment. Yeah, yeah. yeah yeah Absolutely. absolutely George, I didn't talk too much about it in my remarks. george i didn't talk too much about it in my remarks I commented that there was, you know, additionally a write-off of a minority in investments. i commented that there was you know additionally a write-off of a minority in investments It was not the most material item. it was not the most material item You know, Stephan just mentioned the maintenance challenges, the weather issues, and this was yet another factor that impacted closures unfortunately, you know, negatively in the quarter. you know stephan just mentioned the maintenance challenges the weather issues and this was yet another factor that impacted closures unfortunately you know negatively in the quarter It was not a big amount. it was not a big amount It was a minority investment. it was a minority investment It was a venture investment that we made a few years ago. As we do with all investments, we assess, you know, the recoverability of the investment, and we chose to provide against it. It probably had about, you know, again, it was not the most material impact, but another thing that impacted closures margins in the quarter, but not material to Aptar overall. It was a venture investment that we made a few years ago. it was a venture investment that we made a few years ago As we do with all investments, we assess, you know, the recoverability of the investment, and we chose to provide against it. as we do with all investments we assess you know the recoverability of the investment and we chose to provide against it It probably had about, you know, again, it was not the most material impact, but another thing that impacted closures margins in the quarter, but not material to Aptar overall. it probably had about you know again it was not the most material impact but another thing that impacted closures margins in the quarter but not material to aptar overall
Speaker 11: I mean, overall, I mean, overall, i mean overall
Speaker 4: A few million, few million bucks, $100,000? Any way to size it bigger than? A few million, few million bucks, $100,000? a few million few million bucks $100,000 Any way to size it bigger than? any way to size it bigger than
Speaker 12: about 50 or 60 basis points in margin impact to your year. about 50 or 60 basis points in margin impact to your year. about 50 or 60 basis points in margin impact to your year
Speaker 4: Okay. Thanks, Vanessa. Okay. okay Thanks, Vanessa. thanks vanessa
Speaker 12: important to call out, but I wouldn't spend too much time on it. Yeah. important to call out, but I wouldn't spend too much time on it. important to call out but i wouldn't spend too much time on it Yeah. yeah
Speaker 11: I mean, overall, I actually, not to digress too much, you know, we have a venturing program that has served us very well to, you know, complement our in-house innovation by taking positions in leading-edge companies that do innovation. You know, we trade a few million investments, often we're with against the board seat and get some dips on the technology. Overall, the portfolio has been returning quite well. As with venturing, as venturing goes, you don't win them all. Those that you don't win, you have to write off. I mean, overall, I actually, not to digress too much, you know, we have a venturing program that has served us very well to, you know, complement our in-house innovation by taking positions in leading-edge companies that do innovation. i mean overall i actually not to digress too much you know we have a venturing program that has served us very well to you know complement our in-house innovation by taking positions in leading-edge companies that do innovation You know, we trade a few million investments, often we're with against the board seat and get some dips on the technology. you know we trade a few million investments often we're with against the board seat and get some dips on the technology Overall, the portfolio has been returning quite well. overall the portfolio has been returning quite well As with venturing, as venturing goes, you don't win them all. as with venturing as venturing goes you don't win them all Those that you don't win, you have to write off. those that you don't win you have to write off
Speaker 4: Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. Thank you, guys. thank you guys Appreciate it. appreciate it
Speaker 12: Thanks, George. Thanks, George. thanks george
Speaker 9: There are no further questions at this time. Mr. Tanda, I turn the call back over to you. There are no further questions at this time. there are no further questions at this time Mr. Tanda, I turn the call back over to you. mr tanda i turn the call back over to you
Speaker 11: Great. Thanks. Let me zoom out and summarize the call. Number 1, thanks for holding off on the roasting. Appreciate it. On the quarter, the team performed solidly, overcoming some of the unexpected challenges and delivering a good EPS number. As we move through the last two quarters, the visibility of the destocking trajectory of emergency medicine has improved, and we have confirmed our estimate of the $65 million, and that about two-thirds of that will impact the first half of this year with the balance of the second half. Great. great Thanks. thanks Let me zoom out and summarize the call. let me zoom out and summarize the call Number 1, thanks for holding off on the roasting. number 1 thanks for holding off on the roasting Appreciate it. appreciate it On the quarter, the team performed solidly, overcoming some of the unexpected challenges and delivering a good EPS number. on the quarter the team performed solidly overcoming some of the unexpected challenges and delivering a good eps number As we move through the last two quarters, the visibility of the destocking trajectory of emergency medicine has improved, and we have confirmed our estimate of the $65 million, and that about two-thirds of that will impact the first half of this year with the balance of the second half. as we move through the last two quarters the visibility of the destocking trajectory of emergency medicine has improved and we have confirmed our estimate of the $65 million and that about two-thirds of that will impact the first half of this year with the balance of the second half We talked about that Q1 was a tough comp for prescription in particular, but we expect prescription, excluding emergency medicine, to return to solid growth in quarter two, adding to the growth of injectables and consumer healthcare. We didn't talk about it much, but we continue to be very excited about the growing pipeline in Pharma on the back of ever-growing numbers of systemic nasal drug delivery projects and higher participation in injectable projects, including GLP-1s, biologics, and Annex 1 driven projects. We talked about that Q1 was a tough comp for prescription in particular, but we expect prescription, excluding emergency medicine, to return to solid growth in quarter two, adding to the growth of injectables and consumer healthcare. we talked about that q1 was a tough comp for prescription in particular but we expect prescription excluding emergency medicine to return to solid growth in quarter two adding to the growth of injectables and consumer healthcare We didn't talk about it much, but we continue to be very excited about the growing pipeline in Pharma on the back of ever-growing numbers of systemic nasal drug delivery projects and higher participation in injectable projects, including GLP-1s, biologics, and Annex 1 driven projects. we didn't talk about it much but we continue to be very excited about the growing pipeline in pharma on the back of ever-growing numbers of systemic nasal drug delivery projects and higher participation in injectable projects including glp-1s biologics and annex 1 driven projects As a reminder, pulmonary biologics and systemic nasal drug delivery remain the top-end markets in our Pharma pipeline on a risk-adjusted basis. As I mentioned in my remarks, more and more of our customers choose to disclose their collaboration with Aptar, also a credibility builder for them, in their early development phases, which allows us then to give you progressively more color on the kinds of things that are in the pipeline. As we look to Q2 and the balance of 2026, emergency medicine aside, we are well positioned for broad-based growth across all three of our segments. As a reminder, pulmonary biologics and systemic nasal drug delivery remain the top-end markets in our Pharma pipeline on a risk-adjusted basis. as a reminder pulmonary biologics and systemic nasal drug delivery remain the top-end markets in our pharma pipeline on a risk-adjusted basis As I mentioned in my remarks, more and more of our customers choose to disclose their collaboration with Aptar, also a credibility builder for them, in their early development phases, which allows us then to give you progressively more color on the kinds of things that are in the pipeline. as i mentioned in my remarks more and more of our customers choose to disclose their collaboration with aptar also a credibility builder for them in their early development phases which allows us then to give you progressively more color on the kinds of things that are in the pipeline As we look to Q2 and the balance of 2026, emergency medicine aside, we are well positioned for broad-based growth across all three of our segments. as we look to q2 and the balance of 2026 emergency medicine aside we are well positioned for broad-based growth across all three of our segments Continued strong growth in pharma, of course, excluding EM, with solid momentum across injectables, systemic nasal drug delivery, consumer healthcare. Beauty has returned to growth. In closures we expect continued innovation driving more category conversions, including in personal care applications. Continued strong growth in pharma, of course, excluding EM, with solid momentum across injectables, systemic nasal drug delivery, consumer healthcare. continued strong growth in pharma of course excluding em with solid momentum across injectables systemic nasal drug delivery consumer healthcare Beauty has returned to growth. beauty has returned to growth In closures we expect continued innovation driving more category conversions, including in personal care applications. in closures we expect continued innovation driving more category conversions including in personal care applications We're executing on our rigorous productivity roadmap, not only to address the short-term headwinds, including now the impacts from the Middle East conflict, but also to drive further efficiencies across our operations and supply chain networks, as well as SG&A. Last but not least, our strong balance sheets gives us strong optionality while investing in the business and returning capital to shareholders. With that, we look forward to talk to you in the coming weeks. We're executing on our rigorous productivity roadmap, not only to address the short-term headwinds, including now the impacts from the Middle East conflict, but also to drive further efficiencies across our operations and supply chain networks, as well as SG&A. we're executing on our rigorous productivity roadmap not only to address the short-term headwinds including now the impacts from the middle east conflict but also to drive further efficiencies across our operations and supply chain networks as well as sg&a Last but not least, our strong balance sheets gives us strong optionality while investing in the business and returning capital to shareholders. last but not least our strong balance sheets gives us strong optionality while investing in the business and returning capital to shareholders With that, we look forward to talk to you in the coming weeks. with that we look forward to talk to you in the coming weeks
Speaker 9: Thank you. You may now disconnect. Thank you. thank you You may now disconnect. you may now disconnect