WESTMINSTER, Colo. (AP) _ Ball Corp. (BLL) on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $200 million.

On a per-share basis, the Westminster, Colorado-based company said it had net income of 60 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 72 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 67 cents per share.

The metal packaging company posted revenue of $3.13 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.09 billion.

Ball shares have dropped slightly since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has climbed 11%. The stock has climbed 40% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BLL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BLL

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