North American environmental services company US Ecology recorded $122.4 million of total revenue for the second quarter of 2016, down from $139.7 million in the same quarter last year, according to the company’s latest earnings report Thursday. Total revenue for the first half of 2016 was $235.7 million, down from $276.4 million in the first six months of 2015.
Noting his disappointment in the quarterly results, Chairman and CEO Jeff Feeler said during US Ecology’s earnings call Friday that the company is updating its guidance for 2016. The decision, according to the announcement, is based on “increased uncertainty related to timing,” and tempered expectations for the company’s event business.
“Despite the many positives in our business, which included another solid quarter of growth for our Field and Industrial Services business and continued stability in our Environmental Services base business, the quarter was overshadowed by slower than expected project-based Event business,” Feeler said. “We saw projects expected to ship during the second quarter being delayed. Some are shipping now in the third quarter, while others are expected to be shipping here in the near future.”
The updated guidance will fall at the low end of the company’s previously issued guidance range of $1.80 to $1.95 per diluted share of earnings and $126 million to $132 million of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), Feeler said, adding that US Ecology expects that any timing-based adjustments to 2016 guidance will benefit 2017 results.
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.
“Though I was disappointed in the quarterly results, we continue to remain strategically focused on our core assets,” Feeler said.
In the second quarter, Feeler added, the company further streamlined the organization by divesting its non-hazardous solid and liquid waste processing unit in Augusta, Ga. The company also acquired Ontario, Canada-based Environmental Services Inc.
“This is a great asset that aligns with our strategy of adding permitted facilities, complementary services, and new technologies to leverage our already strong infrastructure, and expand our service offerings to new geographic markets,” Feeler said.
The company’s collected $8.9 million in net income for the quarter, or $0.41 per diluted share. Gross profit for the three-month period ended June 30 was $36.9 million, down from $41.5 million in the same span last year. Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $27.7 million, down 12 percent from the $31.4 million recorded in 2015.
Revenue for US Ecology’s Field and Industrial Services segment, which Feeler described as a bright spot for the quarter, was $39.6 million for the quarter, compared to $52.7 million in the same quarter 2015. Revenue for the company’s Environmental Services segment came in at $82.8 million for the quarter, down from the $87 million recorded in 2015.
