Business Segment Information

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Business Segment Information

Business Segment Information

3.     Business Segment Information

Ball’s operations are organized and reviewed by management along its product lines and geographical areas and presented in the four reportable segments outlined below.

Beverage packaging, North and Central America: Consists of operations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that manufacture and sell aluminum beverage containers throughout those countries.

Beverage packaging, EMEA: Consists of operations in numerous countries throughout Europe, including Russia, as well as Egypt and Turkey, that manufacture and sell aluminum beverage containers throughout those regions.

Beverage packaging, South America: Consists of operations in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile that manufacture and sell aluminum beverage containers throughout most of South America.

Aerospace: Consists of operations that manufacture and sell aerospace and other related products and provide services used in the defense, civil space and commercial space industries.

As presented in the table below, Other consists of a non-reportable operating segment (beverage packaging, other) that manufactures and sells aluminum beverage containers in India, Saudi Arabia and throughout the Asia Pacific region; a non-reportable operating segment that manufactures and sells extruded aluminum aerosol containers and aluminum slugs (aerosol packaging) throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia; a non-reportable operating segment that manufactures and sells aluminum cups (aluminum cups); undistributed corporate expenses; intercompany eliminations and other business activities.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those used in the company’s consolidated financial statements as discussed in Note 1. The company also has investments in operations in Guatemala, Panama, the U.S. and Vietnam that are accounted for under the equity method of accounting and, accordingly, those results are not included in segment sales or earnings. In the third quarter of 2021, Ball sold its minority-owned investment in South Korea. Refer to Note 4 for additional details.

Summary of Business by Segment

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
($ in millions)	2021		2020		2021		2020
Net sales
Beverage packaging, North and Central America	$	1,519	$	1,327	$	4,339	$	3,775
Beverage packaging, EMEA		937		809		2,639		2,177
Beverage packaging, South America		462		432		1,401		1,166
Aerospace		498		451		1,381		1,321
Reportable segment sales		3,416		3,019		9,760		8,439
Other		137		74		377		240
Net sales	$	3,553	$	3,093	$	10,137	$	8,679
Comparable operating earnings
Beverage packaging, North and Central America	$	186	$	209	$	519	$	544
Beverage packaging, EMEA		125		117		349		248
Beverage packaging, South America		74		64		245		173
Aerospace		46		44		115		114
Reportable segment comparable operating earnings		431		434		1,228		1,079
Reconciling items
Other (a)		(14)		(15)		(67)		(26)
Business consolidation and other activities		(141)		(8)		(136)		(235)
Amortization of acquired intangibles		(38)		(37)		(114)		(111)
Earnings before interest and taxes		238		374		911		707
Interest expense		(68)		(68)		(201)		(206)
Debt refinancing and other costs		(1)		(1)		(1)		(41)
Total interest expense		(69)		(69)		(202)		(247)
Earnings before taxes	$	169	$	305	$	709	$	460

(a) Includes undistributed corporate expenses, net, of $17 million and $13 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and $71 million and $33 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The company does not disclose total assets by segment as such information is not provided to the chief operating decision maker.