Perma-Fix Environmental Services remained optimistic about its future yesterday during its third quarter 2013 financial results investor’s call despite a poor performance in the quarter. The company pointed to an increased backlog of waste treatment that occurred towards the end of the quarter along with what appears to be an improving government funding environment as positive signs of potential future success. “So to wrap up, even in a bleak market, we generated positive EBITDA two quarters in a row,” President and CEO Lou Centofanti said. “Our backlog has increased. We expect the funding environment will begin to improve in the new year, and probably, more importantly, as a result of our major cost-saving initiatives, any incremental growth and revenue should translate to very meaningful improvements in our bottom line.”
Despite Cenotfanti’s positive remarks, the company did address the poor results from the third quarter, but did say things would get better. “I think what you see in the third quarter is somewhat of a low point,” Centofanti said. . Perma-Fix saw a net revenue of $19.1 million in the third quarter, compared to $29.2 million for the same period last year, while net loss for the quarter was $808,000 compared to $554,000 in 2012. Much of the poor results were blamed on the uncertainty in the government’s budget environment. Sequestration and the government shutdown affected money dedicated to waste streams and cleanup contracts that Perma-Fix makes their business on. In an effort to mitigate these cut backs, Perma-Fix has looked into international jobs and service contracts. “We’re working on a number of important initiatives, including our proposal to treat tank waste, and we’re also bidding on a large number of service contracts and are aggressively working to expand our international and commercial business,” Centofanti said. “We remain optimistic about the outlook and look forward to providing further details as the developments unfold.”
The company also announced the formation of a committee led by new board of director John Climaco to analyze a business strategy forward. “He will be heading a new committee to actively review strategic options for all of the aspects of the business,” Centofanti said. “Given all the changes going on in the industry, within the company, we felt it was very prudent to set up a special committee at the board level to explore all options.” The board of directors established the committee last week at its meeting, but it has not met yet for discussions.
