US Ecology has nearly doubled its net income in 2018, including a $5 million spike in its latest quarter, according to the latest earnings report from the environmental services provider.
The Boise, Idaho-based company brought in $13.4 million in net income for the earnings period ended Sept. 30, or $0.61 per diluted share, up from $8.4 million and $0.38 per diluted share in the same period of 2017. That included a $0.12 boost per share from the federal tax reform legislation passed at the end of 2017.
That drove earnings for the first nine months of 2018 to $35.9 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, compared to $18.6 million and $0.85 per diluted share in the same period of 2017.
Quarterly revenue of $151.4 million represented a 13.4 percent step up from $134.1 million last year, while nine-month revenue of $408.4 million rose year over year from $370.3 million.
US Ecology’s Environmental Services (ES) business line encompasses a number of waste treatment and disposal operations, including its radioactive waste disposal facility at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state.
The ES segment’s quarterly revenue grew by 10 percent from 2017 to 2018, from $97.7 million to $107.2 million. That included an 8 percent bump in revenue for treatment and disposal operations. Management recorded a 9 percent revenue improvement for the largely recurring “base business” waste treatment and disposal business, while the non-recurring event business fell by 8 percent.
“This strong growth was partially due to the impact Hurricane Harvey had on last year’s results, when excluding the estimated impact of Hurricane Harvey on our prior your results, our base business still saw strong year-over-year growth of approximately 5 percent,” Chairman and CEO Jeff Feeler said on Nov. 2 during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
US Ecology was forced to shut down its hazardous waste treatment plant in Robstown, Texas, for several days as the hurricane hit south Texas in August 2017. The company sustained about $1 million in costs from the storm, largely due to stormwater management, and also faced delays in waste shipments for treatment.
For the year to date, Environmental Services has brought in $292.6 million, stepping up from $268.6 million in 2017. While treatment and disposal revenue rose by 7 percent, transportation revenue jumped 15 percent.
Revenue for US Ecology’s Field and Industrial Services business rose 22 percent year over year in the latest quarter, from $36.4 million to $44.2 million. Feeler cited both organic growth and the Aug. 31 acquisition for $22 million of Dallas-based industrial spill and emergency response provider ES&H.
For the first nine months of the year, Field and Industrial Services revenue climbed 14 percent, from $101.8 million to $115.8 million.
Both business segments are expected to grow for the full year and into 2019. That should include 5 to 7 percent growth in the Environmental Services base business for 2018, but a slight drop in the event side. Field and Industrial Services business is anticipated to grow by high-single or low-double digits.
“We’re seeing a lot of opportunities out there. We’re seeing some big projects out in the next five years that will definitely move,” Feeler said during the call.
Radioactive waste disposal is a relatively small portion of US Ecology’s Environmental Services offerings, which cover management of wastewater, PCBs, and other waste forms, along with separate waste transport and recycling. The company does not break its earnings down to the level of reporting how much came specifically from radioactive waste disposal.
The Richland, Wash., facility is licensed for disposal of Class A, B, and C low-level radioactive waste; mixed low-level waste processed to nonhazardous levels, sealed sources; and high-activity radium waste.
Unlike some of its industry peers, US Ecology has not moved to expand its offerings in radioactive waste disposal. For example: Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists hopes to eventually offer temporary storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel at its Andrews County property, as well as disposal of Greater-Than-Class C low-level waste.
Regarding the latter, US Ecology spokeswoman Alison Ziegler on Tuesday said only that “Management confirmed they are not in that business.”
