Republic Services' Earnings Hit by Restructuring Costs
Republic Services, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ) reported fourth quarter profits that were 34 percent lower, despite relatively flat revenue growth, as a result of restructuring charges, higher operating costs, and a subtle shift away from its more lucrative business segments. Fourth quarter profit fell to $127 million, or $0.35 per share from $191 million, or $0.51 per share last year. Revenue rose slightly by 0.2 percent to $2.03 billion as increases in core price, fuel recovery fees and acquisitions offset decreases in volume and recycling commodities.
The company is engaged in a restructuring of its operations, announced last October, which seeks cost savings of $23 million per year by consolidating field offices and reducing staff. That comes with short term costs including an $11.1 million restructuring charge in the last quarter. President and CEO Donald W. Slager acknowledged that the company faced a number of challenges last year, but said, "We have seen some encouraging signs in the economy evidenced by two consecutive quarters of positive volume growth in our collection business." Collection revenue is up 3 percent year over year including growth in both residential and commercial volume and pricing. However revenues from the more lucrative transfer and disposal segments are off 7.9 percent and 5.7 percent respectively.
The company expects gradual improvement over the next year. Revenues are expected to grow by 2 to 2.5 percent and earnings to be in the range of $1.86-$1.91 per share...Read More »
Hurricane Sandy Takes Toll on Covanta's Earnings
Covanta Holding Corporation (Morristown, NJ) said fourth quarter adjusted earnings declined by 25 percent to $0.20 per share. Earnings were hurt by a higher effective tax rate, increased interest expense and the negative impact of Hurricane Sandy. Although, per share results were helped by a lower number of shares outstanding due to the company's common stock buyback program. Revenue for the quarter of $430 million was relatively unchanged from last year's as organic growth in special waste volume and recycled metals, higher service fees and new capacity was offset by a drop in energy and metals markets. Full-year results followed a similar trajectory for the same reasons. Net income for the year fell to $114 million from $219 million while revenue declined slightly to $1.64 billion from $1.65 billion in 2011.
"I'm pleased with both our 2012 operating performance and the execution of organic growth initiatives," said Anthony Orlando, Covanta president and CEO. "Our focus is on investing in the business for the long-term, and we see a number of exciting opportunities that will allow us to grow this year and beyond." For fiscal 2013, the company expects adjusted earnings to be in the range of $0.40 to $0.50 per share...Read More »
Ohio Agencies Seek to Regulate Low-Level Radioactive Wastes from Drilling
Three Ohio governmental agencies are proposing legislation that would restrict the handling of low-level radioactive wastes from natural gas drilling. The 50-page proposed legislation, from the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio Department of Natural Resources, "provides for greater oversight and coordination" to oversee the safe disposal in Ohio landfills of drilling muds, earthen materials, sometimes contaminated with oil-based substances, according to an agency fact sheet...Read More »
Study Says Prohibiting E-Waste Exports Could Create 42,000 US Jobs
New restrictions on the export of electronic waste (e-waste) could generate up to 42,000 direct and indirect new U.S. jobs as users and producers of electronic products improve their life-cycle management standards, according to a recent report released by the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAER). The study, by DSM Environmental Services (Windsor, VT), suggests that processing the 3.6 billion pounds of e-waste that otherwise ends up outside the US domestically instead would create 21,000 full-time equivalent recycling jobs with a corresponding payroll of $772 million. The 82 CAER member companies currently recycle about 1.2 billion pounds of e-waste annually, employing about 6,850 full-time equivalents...Read More »
Republic Services Partners with City of Flint, Mich.
Republic Services, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ) announced a public-private partnership with the City of Flint, Mich. in which Republic will take over the city's waste and recycling collection, introduce curbside recycling, and launch a recycling education campaign. Under the five-year agreement, Republic will also purchase the city's trucks for $1.5 million and hire city sanitation workers who wish to join the company. Republic is promoting the public-private partnership concept as a way for municipalities to share cost savings from the economies-of-scale enjoyed by a large integrated waste management firm. Other benefits include consistent safety training and service standards, greater efficiency; and risk mitigation. Republic is also touting its adoption alternative and hybrid fuel vehicle technologies via its enhanced access to capital as a way to reduce emissions in the communities it serves. The company said 65 percent of its collection fleet purchases last year were natural gas vehicles...Read More »
Texas Disposal Brings Composting into the Hotel Room
Texas Disposal Systems (Creedmoor, TX) is launching an innovative program to encourage local hotel patrons to participate in recycling. After extensive research, TDS designed a program that offers guests of the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin the option of having separate containers for compost and recycling in their rooms. The program gives guests an active role in the hotel's sustainability project that aims to divert 90 percent of its waste from the landfill. TDS's single-stream recycling facility is a central component of the project that is more cost effective in eliminating the need for multiple vendors. TDS combines the food waste from the hotel with tree trimmings from landscapers and other organic materials to generate high grade compost that is then sold under their Garden-Ville brand and even provided back to the hotel for its own landscaping. "Then our efforts are fully realized in the environment around us," says Four Seasons General Manager Rob Hagelberg...Read More »
EnergySolutions's Sale Moves Ahead
Nuclear waste management company EnergySolutions (Salt Lake City, UT) said it is moving forward with plans to go private now that its 30-day "go-shop" period has expired without receipt of any acceptable competing offers. The company agreed last month to be taken private by investment firm Energy Capital Partners for $338.5 million in a deal that has an enterprise value of $1.1 billion. In addition, the United Kingdom Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has approved the change of ownership. However, the company still needs the consent of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, state regulators and shareholders, some of whom have filed suit over the deal...Read More »
Ohio EPA Grants Expansion to WCA's Sunny Farms Landfill
WCA Waste Corporation's Sunny Farms Landfill in Fostoria, Ohio won a permit expansion from the Ohio EPA that adds 32.3 million cubic yards of airspace for disposal and increases the life of the landfill by about 19.2 years based on its an average daily intake of 4,000 tons. WCA bought the rail-served Landfill and a similarly equipped transfer station in Boston as part of a $43.4 million purchase of assets from Live Earth LLC in December 2009...Read More »
Clean Harbors to Report Fourth Quarter on Feb. 20
Clean Harbors, Inc. (Norwell, MA) plans to announce fourth quarter and full-year financial results during a company hosted conference call on Wednesday, February 20 at 9 am (Eastern). CEO Alan McKim and CFO James Rutledge plan to discuss the company's financial results, business outlook and growth strategy...Read More »
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