Anchor Glass Container Corp., has reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31/04. For the period, net sales increased 16.7% to US$189.6M, ($162.4M) - reflecting the impact of new business awards and the continuation of the strong sales growth in all categories that began in the second half of 2003. Net loss in the first quarter of 2004 was US$4.3M, or 17 cents per share as compared with a net loss of US$11.9M in the same period of 2003. Improvements were related to a strong increase in shipping volumes, up 18.8% over the same 2003 levels. Incremental volume from new business accounted for nearly half of the year-over-year increase, with all other segments showing solid growth, particularly in the beer category. Plant upgrades also added to profitability. Capital spending for the quarter totalled US$20.9M due to major furnace reconstruction.
