Business. The Company's operations are organized into four operating segments: Consumer Packaging International, Consumer Packaging North America, Health, Hygiene & Specialties, and Engineered Materials. The structure is designed to align us with our customers, provide improved service, drive future growth, and to facilitate synergies realization. The Consumer Packaging International segment primarily consists of containers, closures and dispensing systems, pharmaceutical devices and packaging, bottles and canisters, and technical components. The Consumer Packaging North America segment primarily consists of containers and pails, foodservice, closures, overcaps, bottles, prescription vials, and tubes. The Health, Hygiene & Specialties segment primarily consists of nonwoven specialty materials, tapes and adhesives, and films used in hygiene, infection prevention, personal care, industrial, construction, and filtration applications. The Engineered Materials segment primarily consists of stretch and shrink films, converter films, institutional can liners, food and consumer films, retail bags, and agriculture films.

Raw Material Trends. Our primary raw material is polymer resin. In addition, we use other materials such as butyl rubber, adhesives, paper and packaging materials, linerboard, rayon, polyester fiber, and foil, in various manufacturing processes. While temporary industry-wide shortages of raw materials have occurred, we have historically been able to manage the supply chain disruption by working closely with our suppliers and customers. Supply shortages can lead to increased raw material price volatility, which we have experienced in recent quarters. Raw material price changes are generally passed on to customers through contractual price mechanisms over time and other means. We expect supply chain challenges to continue throughout fiscal 2022 and will continue to work closely with our suppliers and customers in an effort to minimize any impact.

Outlook. The Company is affected by general economic and industrial growth, raw material availability, cost inflation, supply chain disruptions, and general industrial production. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in both advantaged and disadvantaged products within all segments. During fiscal 2022, we have experienced a headwind as the advantaged products, particularly in our Health, Hygiene & Specialties segment, related to the COVID-19 pandemic moderated while recovery of disadvantaged products lags with the ultimate impact being affected by both the duration certain products remain advantaged and timing of when disadvantaged products normalize. Our business has both geographic and end market diversity, which reduces the effect of any one of these factors on our overall performance. Our results are affected by our ability to pass through raw material and other cost changes to our customers, improve manufacturing productivity and adapt to volume changes of our customers. We believe that by providing advantaged products in targeted markets, our underlying long-term demand fundamental in all divisions will remain strong as we focus on delivering protective solutions that enhance consumer safety and execute on the Company's mission statement of "Always Advancing to Protect What's Important." For fiscal 2022, we project cash flow from operations of $1.5 billion, which assumes the benefit from the lag in recovery of inflation, an investment in working capital from inflation and additional inventory due to supply chain disruptions, and free cash flow of $750 million. Projected fiscal 2022 free cash flow assumes $750 million of capital spending. In addition, we repurchased approximately 11 million shares for $637 million in fiscal 2022 YTD and expect to purchase at least $700 million of shares in fiscal 2022. For the calculation of free cash flow and further information related to free cash flow as a non-GAAP financial measure, see "Liquidity and Capital Resources."

© Edgar Online, source Glimpses