Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc. has reported 2024 second quarter results that include an 8.6 percent rise in revenue compared with one year ago and more than $510 million in net income during the April through June 2024 time frame.
The waste and recycling firm with a national footprint says its second quarter net income of $511.5 million will provide earnings of $1.62 per diluted share (EPS), representing a 19.7 percent increase from the $427.4 million or $1.35 EPS it earned one year ago.
“We continue to prioritize our differentiating capabilities –‘customer zeal, digital and sustainability’ – to help our customers achieve their operational and sustainability goals and drive significant value for our stakeholders,” says Jon Vander Ark, president and CEO of Republic.
“During the second quarter, we delivered double-digit growth in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and EPS, and expanded EBITDA margin by 110 basis points,” adds Vander Ark.
“Pricing in excess of cost inflation and solid operational execution underpinned strong results across the business,” says the CEO. “As a result of our performance and outlook for the remainder of the year, we are raising our full-year financial guidance.”
The company says its overall second quarter 2024 revenue growth of 8.6 percent includes 5.6 percent “organic” growth and 3.0 percent growth tied to recent acquisitions.
The company reports $67.6 million as the amount spent on year-to-date acquisitions, including what it calls an investment in a post-collection business, possibly the 130 Environmental Park in Lockhart, Texas, which includes a 500-acre landfill.
In a post-second quarter earnings report note to Raymond James & Associates Equity Research customers, analyst Patrick Tyler Brown from that Florida-based firm writes in part that Republic “has refocused its efforts across the board, sparking a new level of emphasis on growth, profitability and consistency.”
Assigning the stock an “outperform 2” rating, Brown adds, “Importantly, through both organic and M&A channels, Republic is posting some of the strongest growth in a decade. We remain enamored with Republic’s focus on challenging assumptions (it has been a slow and steady grower and is now refocused on igniting growth) in efforts to drive margins.”
In the recycling sector, Republic says the average recycled commodity price per ton sold at its material recovery facilities (MRFs) and other recycling centers during the second quarter was $173. “This represents an increase of $54 per ton over the prior year,” states the company.
The same week Republic reported its earnings it also announced it has received a National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) 2023 Sustainability Game Changer Award for its Polymer Center in Las Vegas.
Republic describes that facility as “the first in a national network under development to enable greater circularity for rigid plastics and support sustainable packaging, helping customers achieve their sustainability goals.”
“Through the Polymer Center, we’re transforming the plastics value chain, from curbside collection to consumer packaging and back again,” says Pete Keller, the company’s vice president of recycling and sustainability.
At the facility, Republic says it processes sorted and baled plastics from MRFs, further separating plastics by type and color to produce hot-washed recycled PET flake and color-sorted olefins, adding value to the plastics and likely contributing to the increase in per ton prices received for its secondary commodities.
During this year’s second quarter, Republic says it also completed and commenced operations on one renewable natural gas project. Most such projects involve converting landfill gas into marketable energy.
Courtesy : recyclingtoday.com
