Karl Herchenroeder
RW Monitor
11/6/2015
Perma-Fix Environmental Services this week reported $17.3 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2015, up slightly from $16.9 million for the same period in 2014. Wednesday’s report follows positive news from the second quarter, which saw a 29.2 percent revenue increase from the same period in 2014, and negative news from the first quarter, in which the environmental services provider suffered an operating loss of $1.8 million.
The company reported adjusted EBITDA of $2.9 million from continuing operations for the quarter, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $3.8 million for the same period of 2014. Chairman and CEO Lou Centofanti said during the company’s earnings conference call that he believes Perma-Fix has turned the corner after a rough start to the year, and he is encouraged by its prospects heading into 2016. He added that Perma-Fix is pursuing several large contracts in the service segment, which the company hopes to finalize and announce soon. The company is on target to hit an adjusted EBITDA between $6 million and $7 million for the year, which meets projections. Finally, the company expects 50 percent growth in adjusted EBITDA for 2016, he said.
"I am pleased to report another quarter of profitability with $2.9 million of adjusted EBITDA and $1.3 million, or $0.12 per share, of net income from continuing operations,” Centofanti said in a statement. “Importantly, we continue to see growth in our services segment, with revenue increasing 53.4 percent compared to the same period last year. We also experienced another solid quarter in our treatment segment, albeit slightly less than the same period last year due to the timing of waste shipments, which is normal in our business. Looking ahead, we believe that our prior guidance of adjusted EBITDA in the range of $6 million to $7 million for 2015 can be achieved based on our estimated performance for the fourth quarter of 2015. I am especially pleased that our results are producing improved liquidity as evidenced by our cash flow from operations, working capital and debt reduction.”
The earnings report says the company’s treatment segment pulled in $10.9 million in revenue during the quarter, compared to $12.7 million for the same period in 2014. In 2014, the treatment segment received waste that required a short processing deadline and thus produced higher revenue in the third quarter of the year, according to the press release. Revenue from the services segment was $6.4 million, versus $4.2 million for the same period in 2014.The increase in revenue was the result of increased commercial revenue.
During the conference call, Centofanti was asked what gives the company confidence that it will meet projections.
“There’s so much waste out there, especially at DOE, especially at DOD, at the commercial sites, the [Army] Corps of Engineers,” Centofanti said. “We have on our service side, probably the premier group for health physics and managing the radiation control at sites, so that group is really blossoming right now, and with it is coming a lot of work. And it’s leadership work. We’re highly technical. … We just see that there’s a need in the nuclear industry for more leadership and a more technical approach. People are coming to us for that.”
