Date: October 30, 2006
Source: Republic Services, Inc.
Republic Services, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Earnings of $0.58 Per Share
Internal growth of 7.5 percent
Operating margin expands to 17 percent
Earnings per share increase 29 percent
Increases guidance on Earnings Per Share
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) today reported net income of $77.3 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2006, versus net income of $63.8 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, for the comparable period last year. Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 included a $5.1 million tax benefit related to the resolution of various income tax matters. Revenue in the third quarter of 2006 increased 7.8 percent to $787.1 million from $730.0 million for the same period in 2005. Operating income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $133.4 million, compared to operating income of $119.4 million for the same period last year.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, net income was $212.7 million, or $1.56 per diluted share, versus net income of $193.7 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, for the comparable period last year. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 included a $5.1 million tax benefit related to the resolution of various income tax matters. Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 increased 8.4 percent to $2,304.4 million from $2,125.8 million for the same period in 2005. Operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $389.8 million compared to operating income of $361.8 million for the same period last year.
"During the quarter, we continued to experience strong internal growth and saw our margins grow by 60 basis points," said James E. O'Connor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Republic Services, Inc. "Based on the tax benefit, margin enhancement, and an expectation for favorable price and volume growth, we are increasing our earnings per share guidance for the year to a new range of $2.03 to $2.06 per diluted share. Normalized free cash flow is anticipated to be in the upper end of our guidance of $280 million to $290 million."
Quarterly Dividend
Republic Services also announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share for shareholders of record on January 2, 2007. The dividend will be paid on January 15, 2007.
Stock Repurchase
During the three months ended September 30, 2006, Republic Services repurchased 2.3 million shares of common stock for $91.9 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, Republic Services repurchased 10.4 million shares of stock for $417.7 million.
Republic also announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of its common stock. After Republic executes this $250 million stock repurchase program, the total amount of repurchased stock will exceed $2 billion since Republic's stock repurchase program began in 2000.
Republic Services, Inc. is a leading provider of solid waste collection, transfer and disposal services in the United States. The Company's operating units are focused on providing solid waste services for commercial, industrial, municipal and residential customers.
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