Ranpak Accelerated Sales Growth as Automation More Than Doubled
Adjusted EBITDA rose 15.8% to $19.1 million in the second quarter.
Ranpak Holdings (PACK), the protective-packaging company, reported that second-quarter revenue rose 14.0%, extending a four-quarter acceleration driven by automation-equipment sales.
Constant-currency growth reached 12.2%, up from 4.5% in the first quarter and 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Revenue increased 4.0% sequentially to $105.2 million, though it remained below the $111.9 million recorded in the fourth quarter.
Automation revenue climbed 133.8% from a year earlier to $16.6 million, accelerating from a 112.7% increase in the first quarter. Automation contributed 10.0 percentage points to total revenue growth, compared with 2.4 points from higher paper-consumables volume and 0.2 point from paper-consumables price and mix.
Performance across product lines diverged. Void-fill revenue rose 9.0% to $44.8 million and wrapping revenue increased 19.2% to $8.7 million, while cushioning revenue declined 4.6% to $35.1 million. In the preceding quarter, cushioning and void-fill had each grown 4.0%, while wrapping had declined 1.1%.
Paper-protection-system consumables-volume growth accelerated to 2.4% from 0.8% in the first quarter. System placements fell 2.3% from a year earlier, however, and the installed base declined sequentially to about 141,700 machines from 144,100, with cushioning, void-fill and wrapping systems each down from the prior year.
Gross margin expanded 1.5 percentage points to 32.8%, while the GAAP operating loss narrowed to $2.4 million from $9.7 million. The net loss widened slightly to $7.9 million from $7.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA growth accelerated from 9.2% in the first quarter, though the second-quarter margin slipped sequentially to 18.2% from about 18.7%.
Ranpak continues to expect 2024 revenue of $415 million to $445 million and adjusted EBITDA of $83.5 million to $95 million, with Automation on track for nearly $60 million in annual revenue. Six-month operating cash flow improved to a $7.1 million inflow from a $4.9 million outflow a year earlier as inventory absorbed less cash.