Amcor plc

We finance our business primarily through cash flows provided by operating activities, borrowings from banks, and proceeds from issuances of debt and equity. We periodically review our capital structure and liquidity position in light of market conditions, expected future cash flows, potential funding requirements for debt refinancing, capital expenditures and acquisitions, the cost of capital, sensitivity analyses reflecting downside scenarios, the impact on our financial metrics and credit ratings, and our ease of access to funding sources.

We believe that our cash flows provided by operating activities, together with borrowings available under our credit facilities and access to the commercial paper market, backstopped by our bank debt facilities, will continue to provide sufficient liquidity to fund our operations, capital expenditures, and other commitments, including dividends and purchases of our ordinary shares and CHESS Depositary Instruments under authorized share repurchase programs, into the foreseeable future.

Overview

Cash Flow Overview

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities increased by $83 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023, compared to the six months ended December 31, 2022. The change is primarily driven by lower working capital outflows more than offsetting lower net income in the current period.

Net Cash (Used in)/Provided by Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities increased by $280 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023, compared to the six months ended December 31, 2022. The change is primarily driven by the disposal proceeds collected from the sale of the Russian business in the prior period, partially offset by lower outflows for investments in affiliated companies and business acquisitions compared to the prior period.

Net Cash Used in Financing Activities

Net cash used in financing activities increased by $101 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023, compared to the six months ended December 31, 2022. The change is primarily driven by lower net debt drawdowns in the current period.

Net Debt

We borrow from financial institutions and debt investors in the form of bank overdrafts, bank loans, corporate bonds, unsecured notes, and commercial paper. We have a mixture of fixed and floating interest rates and use interest rate swaps to provide further flexibility in managing the interest cost of borrowings.

In March 2023, we entered into two interest rate swap contracts for a total notional amount of $1.2 billion. Under the terms of the contracts, we pay a weighted average fixed rate of interest of 3.88% and receive a variable rate of interest based on 1-month Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). The swaps have been effective as of July 1, 2023, and mature on June 30, 2024. The interest rate swap contracts economically hedge the SOFR component of our forecasted commercial paper issuances.

Short-term debt consists of bank debt with a duration of less than 12 months and bank overdrafts which are classified as current due to the short-term nature of the borrowings, except where we have the ability and intent to refinance and as such extend the debt beyond 12 months. The current portion of long-term debt consists of debt amounts repayable within a year after the balance sheet date.

Our primary bank debt facilities and notes are unsecured and subject to negative pledge arrangements limiting the amount of secured indebtedness we can incur to 10.0% of our total tangible assets, subject to some exceptions and variations by facility. In addition, the covenants of the bank debt facilities require us to maintain a leverage ratio not higher than 3.9 times. The negative pledge arrangements and the financial covenants are defined in the related debt agreements. As of December 31, 2023, we were in compliance with all applicable covenants under our bank debt facilities.

Our net debt as of December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023 was $6.6 billion and $6.1 billion, respectively.

Debt Facilities

As of December 31, 2023, we had undrawn credit facilities available in the amount of $1.0 billion. Our senior facilities are available to fund working capital, capital expenditures, and refinancing obligations and are provided to us by two bank syndicates. These facilities mature in April 2025 and April 2027, respectively, and the revolving tranches have two 12-month options available to us to extend the maturity date.

As of December 31, 2023, the revolving senior bank debt facilities had an aggregate limit of $3.8 billion, of which $2.8 billion had been drawn (inclusive of amounts drawn under commercial paper programs reducing the overall balance of available senior facilities). Subject to certain conditions, we can request the total commitment level under each agreement to be increased by up to $500 million.

Dividend Payments

We declared and paid a $0.1225 cash dividend per ordinary share during the three months ended September 30, 2023 and a $0.1250 cash dividend per ordinary share during the three months ended December 31, 2023.

Credit Rating

Our capital structure and financial practices have earned us investment grade credit ratings from two internationally recognized credit rating agencies. These investment grade credit ratings are important to our ability to issue debt at favorable rates of interest, for various terms, and from a diverse range of markets that are highly liquid, including European and U.S. debt capital markets, and from global financial institutions.

Share Repurchases

On February 7, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a $100 million buyback of ordinary shares and/or CHESS Depositary Instruments ("CDIs") in the following twelve months. On February 6, 2024, our Board of Directors extended the approval for the remaining $39 million of ordinary shares and CDIs of the $100 million buyback until June 30, 2024. During the six months ended December 31, 2023, we repurchased approximately $30 million of ordinary shares and CDIs in the aggregate, including transaction costs, or 3 million shares. The shares repurchased as part of the program were canceled upon repurchase.

We had cash outflows of $48 million and $221 million for the purchase of our shares in the open market and using forward contracts to purchase our own equity during the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, as treasury shares to satisfy the vesting and exercises of share-based compensation awards. As of December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023, we held treasury shares at a cost of $11 million and $12 million, respectively, representing 1 million shares.