Waste Business Journal

Covanta Reports Wider First Quarter Loss on More Maintenance

Date: April 17, 2013

Source: Covanta Holding Corporation

Covanta Holding Corporation Reports 2013 First Quarter Results

Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) ("Covanta" or the "Company"), a leading global owner and operator of Energy-from-Waste ("EfW") projects, reported financial results today for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

Q1 2013 Highlights:

• Organic growth initiatives on track

• Unfavorable impact of increased maintenance activity

• Raised cash dividend by 10% to $0.165 per share ($0.66 per share annually)

• Increased buyback authorization to $150 million

• Reaffirming FY2013 guidance

Commenting on Covanta's results, Anthony Orlando, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Our organic growth initiatives are on track, we're seeing the benefit of improving energy markets and our business model remains very stable. As such, I'm confident that we'll finish the year within our guidance range." Orlando continued, "We typically conduct a large portion of our scheduled plant maintenance during the first quarter but this year the percentage of our planned work was even higher than last year. Furthermore, we had to make some unplanned repairs which caused additional downtime. The timing of planned maintenance will reverse in the second half and we're working to offset the impact of the unplanned downtime."

Q1 2013 Results

Operating revenues declined $19 million, or 5%, to $373 million, compared to the prior year. This decline was primarily due to lower construction revenue and downtime due to increased maintenance activity, partially offset by the benefits from higher energy prices and from organic growth initiatives.

Operating expenses decreased by $11 million to $378 million. The improvement was primarily due to lower construction expense, a gain related to the elimination of the defined benefit pension obligation, and the benefits from organic growth initiatives, partially offset by increased plant maintenance expense primarily due to timing.

Operating loss was $5 million, compared to operating income of $3 million in the prior year. This decrease was primarily due to increased maintenance activity including timing noted above, partially offset by a gain related to the elimination of the defined benefit pension plan obligation.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $16 million to $58 million, due to increased maintenance activity including the associated revenue reduction. Approximately $9 million of the decrease was due to unplanned maintenance and the remainder was primarily due to timing of planned maintenance which is expected to reverse by the end of the year.

Free Cash Flow decreased by $52 million to $25 million for the three month comparative period. The decline was primarily driven by the timing of construction working capital and the decline in Adjusted EBITDA.

Adjusted EPS declined by $0.12 to $(0.21) versus $(0.09) in the prior year period, primarily due to lower operating income and higher interest expense as a result of the refinancings completed in 2012.

Shareholder Returns and Liquidity

During the first quarter, the Company increased its quarterly cash dividend by 10% to $0.165 per share ($0.66 per share on an annual basis) and returned $46 million to shareholders, consisting of $22 million in cash dividends declared and $24 million in share repurchases (0.9% of common stock outstanding). Since the inception of its buyback program the Company has repurchased 27.0 million shares, or 17.5% of shares outstanding, at a weighted average cost of $16.15 per share. As of March 31, 2013, Covanta had $126 million of share repurchase authorization remaining.

The Company amended its $297 million senior secured term loan B in the first quarter to reduce its interest rate by 0.50% at current rates, consisting of a reduction in the LIBOR margin from 3.00% to 2.75% and a reduction in the LIBOR floor from 1.00% to 0.75%.

Sanjiv Khattri, Covanta's Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, "While we remain focused on allocating capital to generate value-enhancing growth, we again demonstrated our commitment to returning excess capital to shareholders with our actions during the quarter. In addition, we were pleased with two small transactions: the repricing of our term loan which will reduce our ongoing interest cost and the elimination of our pension obligation."

2013 Full Year Guidance

The Company is reaffirming its guidance for 2013 for the following key metrics:

Conference Call Information

Covanta will host a conference call at 8:30 am (Eastern) on Thursday, April 18, 2013 to discuss its first quarter results. The conference call will begin with prepared remarks, which will be followed by a question and answer session. To participate, please dial 800-860-2442 approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. If calling from Canada, please dial 866-605-3852. If calling outside of the United States and Canada, please dial 412-858-4600. Please request the "Covanta Holding Corporation call" when prompted by the conference call operator. The conference call will also be webcast live from the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. A presentation will be made available during the call and will be found on the Investor Relations section of the Covanta website at www.covantaenergy.com.

A replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call through 9:00 AM (Eastern) Friday, April 26, 2013. To access the replay, please dial 877-344-7529, or from outside of the United States 412-317-0088 and use the replay conference ID number 10027173. The webcast will also be archived on www.covantaenergy.com.

About Covanta

Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Covanta's 44 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste into 9 million megawatt hours of clean renewable electricity and approximately 9 billion pounds of steam that are sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit www.covantaenergy.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries ("Covanta") or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. For additional information see the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements at the end of the Exhibits.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use a number of different financial measures, both United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and non-GAAP, in assessing the overall performance of our business. To supplement our assessment of results prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use the measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, and Adjusted EPS, which are non-GAAP measures as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, and Adjusted EPS as described below, and used in the tables above, are not intended as a substitute or as an alternative to net loss, cash flow provided by operating activities or diluted loss per share as indicators of our performance or liquidity or any other measures of performance or liquidity derived in accordance with GAAP. In addition, our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes.

The presentations of Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow and Adjusted EPS are intended to enhance the usefulness of our financial information by providing measures which management internally use to assess and evaluate the overall performance of its business and those of possible acquisition candidates, and highlight trends in the overall business.

Adjusted EBITDA

We use Adjusted EBITDA to provide further information that is useful to an understanding of the financial covenants contained in the credit facilities as of March 31, 2013 of our most significant subsidiary, Covanta Energy, through which we conduct our core waste and energy services business, and as additional ways of viewing aspects of its operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of our core business. The calculation of Adjusted EBITDA is based on the definition in Covanta Energy's credit facilities as of March 31, 2013, which we have guaranteed. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as adjusted for additional items subtracted from or added to net loss. Because our business is substantially comprised of that of Covanta Energy, our financial performance is substantially similar to that of Covanta Energy. For this reason, and in order to avoid use of multiple financial measures which are not all from the same entity, the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and other financial measures presented herein are ours, measured on a consolidated basis, less the results of operations of our insurance subsidiaries.

Under the credit facilities as of March 31, 2013, Covanta Energy is required to satisfy certain financial covenants, including certain ratios of which Adjusted EBITDA is an important component. Compliance with such financial covenants is expected to be the principal limiting factor which will affect our ability to engage in a broad range of activities in furtherance of our business, including making certain investments, acquiring businesses and incurring additional debt. Covanta Energy was in compliance with these covenants as of March 31, 2013. Failure to comply with such financial covenants could result in a default under these credit facilities, which default would have a material adverse affect on our financial condition and liquidity.

These financial covenants are measured on a trailing four quarter period basis and the material covenants are as follows:

• maximum Covanta Energy leverage ratio of 4.00 to 1.00, which measures Covanta Energy's Consolidated Adjusted Debt (which is the principal amount of its consolidated debt less certain restricted funds dedicated to repayment of project debt principal and construction costs) to its Adjusted EBITDA (which for purposes of calculating the leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio, is adjusted on a pro forma basis for acquisitions and dispositions made during the relevant period); and
  

• minimum Covanta Energy interest coverage ratio of 3.00 to 1.00, which measures Covanta Energy's Adjusted EBITDA to its consolidated interest expense plus certain interest expense of ours, to the extent paid by Covanta Energy.

In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended

March 31, 2013 and 2012, reconciled for each such periods to net loss and cash flow provided by operating activities, which are believed to be the most directly comparable measures under GAAP.

Free Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow is defined as cash flow provided by operating activities, excluding the cash flow provided by or used in our insurance subsidiaries, less maintenance capital expenditures, which are capital expenditures primarily to maintain our existing facilities. We use the non-GAAP measure of Free Cash Flow as a criterion of liquidity and performance-based components of employee compensation. We use Free Cash Flow as a measure of liquidity to determine amounts we can reinvest in our core businesses, such as amounts available to make acquisitions, invest in construction of new projects, make principal payments on debt, or amounts we can return to our stockholders through dividends and/or stock repurchases.

In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Free Cash Flow for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, reconciled for each such periods to cash flow provided by operating activities, which we believe to be the most directly comparable measure under GAAP.

Adjusted EPS

Adjusted EPS excludes certain income and expense items that are not representative of our ongoing business and operations, which are included in the calculation of Diluted Earnings Per Share in accordance with GAAP. The following items are not all-inclusive, but are examples of reconciling items in prior comparative and future periods. They would include the results of operations of our insurance subsidiaries, write-off of assets and liabilities, the effect of derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments, significant gains or losses from the disposition or restructuring of businesses, gains and losses on assets held for sale, transaction-related costs, income and loss on the extinguishment of debt and other significant items that would not be representative of our ongoing business.

We will use the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted EPS to enhance the usefulness of our financial information by providing a measure which management internally uses to assess and evaluate the overall performance and highlight trends in the ongoing business.

In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Adjusted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, reconciled for each such periods to diluted loss per share, which is believed to be the most directly comparable measure under GAAP.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries ("Covanta") or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as the words "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," or "scheduled to," or other similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. Covanta cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by us are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. Important factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

• fluctuations in the prices of energy, waste disposal, scrap metal and commodities;

• adoption of new laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, including energy laws, environmental laws, labor laws and healthcare laws;

• the fee structures of our contracts;

• our ability to avoid adverse publicity relating to our business expansion efforts;

• advances in technology;

• difficulties in the operation of our facilities, including fuel supply and energy delivery interruptions, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, equipment failures, labor disputes and work stoppages, and weather interference and catastrophic events;

• failure to maintain historical performance levels at our facilities and our ability to retain the rights to operate facilities we do not own;

• difficulties in the financing, development and construction of new projects and expansions, including increased construction costs and delays;

• our ability to realize the benefits of long-term business development and bear the costs of business development over time;

• the scalability of our business;

• limits of insurance coverage;

• our ability to avoid defaults under our long-term contracts;

• performance of third parties under our contractual arrangements and such third parties' observance of laws and regulations;

• concentration of suppliers and customers;

• geographic concentration of facilities;

• increased competitiveness in the energy and waste industries;

• changes in foreign currency exchange rates;

• limitations imposed by our existing indebtedness and our ability to perform our financial obligations and guarantees and to refinance our existing indebtedness;

• exposure to counterparty credit risk and instability of financial institutions in connection with financing transactions;

• our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards;

• restrictions in our certificate of incorporation and debt documents regarding strategic alternatives;

• failures of disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting;

• our ability to attract and retain talented people;

• general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, including the availability of credit and debt financing and market conditions at the time our contracts expire; and

• other risks and uncertainties affecting our businesses described in Item 1A. Risk Factors of Covanta's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and in other filings by Covanta with the SEC.

Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from a projection or assumption in any of our forward-looking statements. Our future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof and we do not have, or undertake, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law.