North American environmental services company US Ecology recorded $477.7 in total revenue for 2016, down 15.2 percent from the $563.1 million recorded in 2015, according to the company’s latest earnings report Thursday.
The company pulled in $117.2 million in revenue during the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $138.3 million in the same quarter of 2015. The report showed a quarterly net income of $7.7 million, or $0.35 per diluted share.
Based in Boise, Idaho, US Ecology provides waste management services to commercial and government entities, including treatment, disposal, and recycling of hazardous and radioactive waste, as well as field and industrial services.
The company anticipates 2017 earnings per diluted share to be between $1.69 and $1.93 and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) of $120 million to $130 million. According to Thursday’s earnings report, the guidance reflects adjusted EBITDA growth of up to 15 percent, compared to 2016 pro forma adjusted EBITDA of $113.4 million; and growth of up to 26 percent from adjusted earnings per share of $1.53 in 2016.
“We saw another quarter of sluggishness in the industrial sector, including lower spending and continued project deferment, which resulted in Pro Forma adjusted EBITDA for 2016 at the low end of our guidance range,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Feeler said in a statement. “Winter weather conditions, which affected shipping and production schedules, combined with lower December industrial waste volumes contributed to a 4% decline in Base Business in our Environmental Services segment in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. Our Environmental Services segment Event Business was down 17% during the quarter as compared to the same quarter last year due to prior year project completions that were not fully replaced and continued project delays. Our Field and Industrial Services segment also delivered lower than anticipated results on the softer market conditions as we closed out the year. The recent uptick in the industrial sector seen so far in the first quarter, however, while not yet resulting in improved volumes, bodes well for our 2017 business outlook given the tendency of the hazardous waste industry to lag industrial cycles.”
