International Paper Co ( IP ) shares are trading lower after the company reported second-quarter FY24 sales growth of 1.1% year-on-year to $4.73 billion, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $4.78 billion.

Net sales from Industrial Packaging rose 1.2% Y/Y to $3.9 billion, Global Cellulose Fibres grew 2.7% to $717 million, and Corporate and Inter-segment declined 14%.

Selling and administrative expenses rose 34.8% to $453 million. Adjusted EPS of $0.55 beat the analyst consensus of $0.41.

Business segment operating income for the quarter was $322 million, with the margin at 6.8%.

The company held $1.04 billion in cash and equivalents as of June-end. Cash provided by operating activities during the quarter totaled $365 million, with a free cash flow of $167 million.

Andy Silvernail, CEO, said, “While our second quarter financial results increased sequentially on better price and seasonally higher volumes, we expect near-term performance to be challenged.”

“In order to accelerate improvement, we are deploying an 80/20 business process. We will make the changes needed to focus our portfolio, become excellent with our customers and optimize our cost to deliver profitable growth.”

Price Action: IP shares traded lower by 0.50% at $45.69 at last check Wednesday.