Waste Management and Teamsters Ratify New Contract in California
Waste Management Inc. in Alameda County, Calif. and their unionized workers represented by the Teamsters Local 70, finally reached an agreement on a new contract that their month-long lockout. The new contract resolves two key differences. It contains a "no strike, no lockout" clause; meaning that the union won't strike and the company won't lock out employees during arbitration; and, crucial to the union, retains language about honoring picket lines. The Teamsters also conceded to a list of 10 new safety rules introduced in the new contract. It is not yet clear how much it cost Waste Management to house and pay 400 replacement workers during the ordeal...Read More »
Republic Services Beat the Odds Makers With 23% Jump in 2Q Profits
Republic Services reported that second quarter profits rose 23%, beating analysts' estimates and leading the company to revise its 2007 forecast. Net income increased to $87.2 million, or 45 cents a share, from $70.8 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier. Revenues rose 3.7 percent to $808.4 million from $779.8 million. Republic raised its estimate for full-year earnings to between $1.52 and $1.55 a share, from $1.50 to $1.52, and increased its quarterly dividend to 17 cents a share, from 11 cents a year earlier...Read More »
North Carolina Legislature Wrestles with Landfill and Energy Bills
North Carolina legislators are working on a bill that would extend the state's moratorium on landfill permits which would otherwise be due to expire shortly. Other measures include more stringent permitting, location and construction requirements for landfills in the state. Another bill under consideration is a new energy act that requires the state's utilities to provide 12.5 percent of their retail electricity from renewable fuel and efficiency measures by 2017...Read More »
Covanta Reports Positive 2Q Revenues but Earnings Decline
Covanta Holding Corp. reported a gain in second quarter revenues of 6% to $355 million, up from $334 million last year, although, earnings per share declined to $0.24 from $0.35 in the same period last year. Revenue gains were driven primarily by contractual service fee escalations, construction revenues related to the Hillsborough County facility expansion and two facilities added to the company's portfolio this year; the Harrisburg Energy-from-Waste facility and the Holliston transfer station...Read More »
Waste Services Announces Record Second Quarter Results
Waste Services reported a 25% increase in second quarter revenues that jumped to $126 million from $100 million in last year's quarter. Acquisitions net of divestitures contributed $21 million in revenues. Internal growth of 5% was driven by 4.7% in pricing increases and a modest 0.3% increase in volumes. Improving operating margins helped to narrow the net loss for the period to $2 million from $11 million last year. David Sutherland-Yoest, Waste Services Chairman and CEO, looks forward to an even stronger second half of the year and says the company is on target to generate $500 million in revenues along with positive free cash flow for the 2007 fiscal year...Read More »
New York Governor Passes Somewhat Symbolic Anti-Creosote Bill
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announced that he has signed legislation that will partially end the manufacture, sale and use of creosote in New York State. According to the Governor, "This is a law that will protect the environment, and help ensure that workers will be protected from the harsh effects of this dangerous chemical." In 1995 the U.S. EPA classified creosote as a probable human carcinogen. However, the bill exempts products containing creosote that are already in use and nearly all the major users of these products including railroads, electric utilities and telecommunications companies and public authorities...Read More »
Stericycle Reports Stellar Second Quarter Results
Medical waste company Stericycle Inc. reported second quarter earnings of $0.36 per share that beat analysts' consensus estimate of $0.33. Revenues for the quarter increased by 17% to $232 million from $198 million last year. Net income rose by 28% to $32 million from $25 million last year. CEO Mark Miller acknowledges that Street estimates of an 18 percent earnings jump to $1.35 per share are reasonable this year, and he expects a similar gain next year...Read More »
World Waste Technologies to Shift Focus to Renewable Energy
San Diego-based World Waste Technologies said that it is shifting its focus away from waste-to-pulp production to that of producing renewable energy from post-recycled residual municipal waste (MSW). Consistent with this new direction, the Company also announced that it has been short-listed in the selection process to provide a total of 60 megawatts of renewable electric power to a major California utility. John Pimentel, CEO of World Waste Technologies, Inc. said, "We believe a significant opportunity in California and numerous other states has been created by the desire to produce more power using renewable fuels."...Read More »
American Ecology Corp. Posts Strong Second Quarter
Special waste services provider, American Ecology Corp., posted a very strong second quarter where revenues increased by 38% to $41.3 million from 29.9 million last year. The company attributed the gains to increased rail shipments from east coast transportation and disposal projects, and higher volumes at its three hazardous waste facilities...Read More »
Startech Project for Puerto Rico to Produce Methanol and Synthetic Fuels from Waste
Startech Environmental Corp. announced that its EnviroSafe Industrial Services Corp. of Puerto Rico plans to produce methanol and various synthetic fuels from the wastes it will be processing in its Plasma Converter and Recycling Facility in Puerto Rico. Steve Landa, Startech VP, said, "The manufacturing and production process for EnviroSafe's Converters has been in progress, and the Company has received the scheduled payments called for in the Contract that was previously announced on May 24, 2007."...Read More »
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