May 5 (Reuters) - Ball Corp beat quarterly results estimates on Tuesday and backed its annual targets, banking on its ability to pass on to customers aluminum cost increases driven by the Middle East conflict.
The war in Iran has disrupted the global aluminum market, with analysts expecting major shortages this year for the key material used in transport, construction and packaging industries.
U.S. President Donald Trump's import tariffs on aluminum have also added pressure for firms such as Ball Corp, which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of aluminum beverage packaging.
Shares of the Colorado-based company were down 2% in early trading.
Consumer packaged goods firms and top beverage makers have warned of the impact of higher costs of packaging materials such as aluminum and resin on their profits this year.
While Ball Corp said it has no direct exposure to the Middle East, higher aluminum prices linked to the conflict have raised input costs.
The company said its contracts allow it to pass these costs immediately to customers, limiting the impact on its business.
Ball reported revenue of $3.60 billion for the three months ended March 31, helped by higher aluminum prices. Analysts on average expected revenue of $3.36 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 94 cents, topping analysts' estimate of 85 cents. Its cost of sales jumped nearly 19% to $2.96 billion in the quarter.
In North and Central America, the company's major revenue-generating geography, beverage packaging sales grew to $1.78 billion in the quarter from $1.46 billion a year earlier.
Ball reported a 0.8% increase in global aluminum packaging shipments for the quarter, compared to a 2.6% rise in the previous year.
(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
