Orora Shares Gain 3.6% as Packaging Group Seeks Recovery After Saverglass Writedown and Shareholder Anger

SYDNEY — Shares of Orora Ltd. rose more than 3% on Tuesday, as the packaging company tried to rebuild investor confidence following a difficult year marked by a large writedown on its glass business.

Orora shares gained 0.05 Australian dollars, or 3.60%, to A$1.44 in afternoon trading. The stock traded between A$1.38 and A$1.445, with nearly 1.8 million shares changing hands. The company's market value stood at about A$1.8 billion.

It was not immediately clear whether the company had released new information to the market. The shares remain down about 28% over the past year.

About Orora

Melbourne-based Orora provides packaging for the beverage and food industries. Its business is built around two main divisions:

Cans, which makes aluminum beverage cans and ends for brewers and soft drink makers in Australia and New Zealand. Glass, which includes Saverglass, a French maker of premium glass bottles used for spirits and wines.

A tale of two businesses

Orora's fiscal 2026 results, released in August, highlighted a sharp divide between its two divisions.

The Cans business delivered strong growth, with revenue up about 13%, supported by expanded production capacity.

The Glass business, however, faced difficult conditions. Orora recorded a non-cash impairment of 450 million euros on Saverglass, citing the effects of conflict in the Middle East, U.S. tariffs and cost-of-living pressures that have weighed on demand for premium spirits and wine.

The writedown pushed Orora to a statutory net loss of about A$617 million for the year. On an underlying basis, the group's results were steadier. Revenue rose about 6.5% to about A$2.23 billion, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were roughly flat at about A$420 million. Underlying net profit fell about 6% to about A$142 million.

Shareholder disappointment

At Orora's annual general meeting on Oct. 14, Chair Rob Sindel acknowledged shareholders' disappointment with the company's performance, including the decline in its share price and the problems with the Saverglass acquisition.

Orora acquired Saverglass in 2023 as part of a strategy to expand into premium packaging, but the deal has come under scrutiny as conditions in the global spirits market deteriorated.

Returning cash to shareholders

Despite the challenges, Orora has continued to generate strong cash flow. Operating cash flow was about A$291 million in fiscal 2026, supporting dividends and an on-market share buyback of about A$118 million.

The company paid a final dividend of 4 cents per share, bringing total fiscal 2026 dividends to 9 cents.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Orora expects higher earnings from its Cans business in fiscal 2027. However, it expects Saverglass earnings to be lower than in fiscal 2026, with earnings weighted toward the second half of the year.

The company is pursuing initiatives aimed at improving Saverglass earnings by more than 30 million euros by fiscal 2030.

What to watch

Investors will be watching for signs of recovery in demand for premium spirits and wine, which would help the Glass business, along with continued growth in the Cans division.

Tuesday's gain offers some relief for shareholders, but the stock remains well below its levels of a year ago.