Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE:SEE) in the fourth quarter as the company reversed to a loss. Reported a loss of $49.3 million (26 cents per diluted share) in the quarter. The packaging and containers company had net income of $51.3 million or 29 cents per share in the year earlier quarter. Revenue rose 69.8% to $2.05 billion from the year earlier quarter. Sealed Air Corporation reported adjusted net income of 8 cents per share. By that measure, the company fell short of mean estimate of 50 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $1.29 billion.

Commenting on our operating performance, William V. Hickey, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: “Our results for the fourth quarter reflect solid performance in our legacy Sealed Air business in a challenging economic environment, coupled with the successful completion of our Diversey acquisition. In the legacy businesses, our continued focus on our strategic growth programs, developing region expansion and margin improvement helped to drive improved free cash flow above expectations, strengthening our ability to pay down debt and drive earnings growth going forward.”

Competitors to Watch: Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS), AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR), Rock-Tenn Company (NYSE:RKT), AEP Industries (NASDAQ:AEPI), Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON), Graham Packaging Co. Inc (NYSE:GRM), UFP Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPT), Constar Intl., Inc. (NASDAQ:CNST).

Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (NASDAQ:SIAL) reported its results for the fourth quarter. Net income for the chemicals company rose to $108 million (89 cents per share) vs. $94 million (76 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 14.9% from the year earlier quarter. Revenue rose 4.8% to $610 million from the year earlier quarter. Sigma – Aldrich Corporation reported adjusted net income of 91 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 89 cents per share. It fell short of the average revenue estimate of $626.9 million.

Commenting on 2011 performance, President and CEO Rakesh Sachdev said: “Our overall performance for 2011 resulted in another record year for Sigma-Aldrich in sales and earnings per share (“EPS”) as we delivered EPS growth for our 37th consecutive year. The Research business in the U.S. was impacted by challenging market conditions and funding uncertainties in the early weeks of the fourth quarter.”

Competitors to Watch: Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH), Life Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:LIFE), Qiagen NV (NASDAQ:QGEN), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX), Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ:HWKN), Enzo Biochem, Inc. (NYSE:ENZ), Aceto Corporation (NASDAQ:ACET), Strategic Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ:SDIX), and PerkinElmer, Inc. (NYSE:PKI).

To contact the reporter on this story: Derek Hoffman at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com

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