Clean Harbors Announces Second-Quarter 2023 Financial Results

  • Grows Q2 Revenue to $1.4 Billion on Continued Strength in Environmental Services
  • Generates Q2 Net Income of $115.8 Million, or EPS and Adjusted EPS of $2.13
  • Delivers Q2 Adjusted EBITDA of $287.5 Million
  • Reiterates 2023 Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow Guidance

NORWELL, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Clean Harbors, Inc. (“Clean Harbors”) (NYSE: CLH), the leading provider of environmental and industrial services throughout North America, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

“Clean Harbors delivered a strong second-quarter performance, highlighted by the continued momentum of the Environmental Services (ES) segment,” said Eric Gerstenberg, Co-Chief Executive Officer. “The segment’s Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 140 basis points through a combination of revenue growth, pricing initiatives and productivity gains. The profitable growth in our ES segment partly offset decreased revenue and profitability in our Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions (SKSS) segment, which declined due to base oil market conditions. At the same time, we posted the best second-quarter safety results in the Company’s history, registering a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.68 to conclude a great first half in safety.”

Second-Quarter Results

Revenues increased 3% to $1.40 billion from $1.36 billion in the same period of 2022. Income from operations was $189.8 million, compared to $211.2 million in the second quarter of 2022.

Net income and adjusted net income were $115.8 million, or $2.13 per diluted share. This compared with net income of $148.2 million, or $2.71 per diluted share, for the same period in 2022. Adjusted for certain items in the 2022 period, adjusted net income in the second quarter of 2022 was $133.1 million, or $2.44 per diluted share. (See reconciliation tables below).

Adjusted EBITDA (see description below) was $287.5 million compared with $309.1 million in the same period of 2022.

Q2 2023 Segment Review

“Healthy demand across our ES segment yielded a 13% increase in Adjusted EBITDA with a 26% margin, reflecting a record level of revenue throughout our service businesses, supported by our disposal and recycling network,” said Gerstenberg. “In Q2, we capitalized on a busy spring turnaround season and solid initial contributions from our recent Thompson Industrial acquisition, leading to revenue growth of 11% in Industrial Services. Revenue in Safety-Kleen Environmental Services grew 16%, while Field Services revenue was up 7%. Within Technical Services, our incineration utilization improved sequentially to 84%, but was down from a year ago due to a higher number of maintenance days. We continued to see a healthy mix of waste volumes as our average incineration price was up 8% in the quarter while our landfill average price per ton increased 21% on strong base business.”

“During the quarter the SKSS segment set operational records collecting 64 million gallons of oil and achieving our highest Q2 base oil sales volume,” said Mike Battles, Co-Chief Executive Officer. “However, financial results in the segment were below our expectations due to unfavorable macro supply dynamics and pricing headwinds in the base oil market that included an unexpected June price decline and lower spot pricing throughout the quarter. To address the compression in our re-refining spread, we rapidly shifted from a pay-for-oil (PFO) to a charge-for-oil (CFO) pricing model while still collecting a record amount of used oil. We also maximized plant production, optimizing the economics of the business while navigating the current environment.”

Business Outlook and Financial Guidance

“We remain on track to hit our financial targets in 2023 as momentum in our ES segment continues to offset the decline in SKSS,” said Gerstenberg. “Demand within our key ES businesses has not slowed, and underlying market conditions remain positive. Industrial Services continues to be a meaningful contributor to our 2023 success, and we expect a healthy fall turnaround season. Within our disposal network, our record backlog grew again in Q2, which positions us well for the coming quarters. The buildout of our new incinerator in Kimball, Nebraska is going well as we continue to target an early 2025 opening. The project pipeline within the ES segment shows no sign of slowing. The pace of reshoring remains robust, and government infrastructure spending is just starting to register. We are also seeing customer interest in projects related to the remediation of ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS) increase. We expect the recent authorization of PFAS incineration by the Department of Defense will support our growth in the coming years. Overall, we continue to anticipate a record year in our ES segment.”

“Within SKSS, we expect challenging market conditions to extend throughout the remainder of the year given that the summer driving season did not stabilize pricing due to global oversupply and destocking efforts by U.S. customers. Therefore, we expect base oil and blended pricing to remain under pressure in the back half of 2023. Our near-term focus will continue to be on effectively managing waste oil collection to supply our plants with the lowest cost gallons possible and running our plants efficiently, while continuing to grow overall sales volumes. Even though we are lowering our 2023 expectations for the SKSS segment again due to current market factors, we fully expect that reduction to be offset by profitable growth in ES,” Battles concluded.

For the third quarter of 2023, Clean Harbors expects its ES segment to continue to grow and perform well. Overall, the Company expects Adjusted EBITDA to decrease 7% to 9% from the prior year related to the difficult year-over-year comparison in its SKSS segment.

For full-year 2023, Clean Harbors expects:

  • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.02 billion to $1.06 billion or a midpoint of $1.04 billion. This range is based on anticipated GAAP net income in the range of $372 million to $408 million; and
  • Adjusted free cash flow in the range of $305 million to $345 million, or a midpoint of $325 million, which includes $85 million to $90 million of spend related to the Kimball incinerator. This range is based on anticipated net cash from operating activities in the range of $705 million to $765 million.

Non-GAAP Results

Clean Harbors reports Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure and should not be considered an alternative to net income or other measurements under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) but viewed only as a supplement to those measurements. Adjusted EBITDA is not calculated identically by all companies, and therefore the Company’s measurement of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Clean Harbors believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides additional useful information to investors since the Company’s loan covenants are based upon levels of Adjusted EBITDA achieved and management routinely evaluates the performance of its businesses based upon levels of Adjusted EBITDA. The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA in accordance with its existing revolving credit agreement, as described in the following reconciliation showing the differences between reported net income and Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands, except percentages):

For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Net income

$

115,766

$

148,157

$

188,167

$

193,471

Accretion of environmental liabilities

3,486

3,197

6,893

6,353

Stock-based compensation

4,500

6,835

10,518

12,547

Depreciation and amortization

89,697

87,868

174,455

172,166

Other expense (income), net

1,283

(1,265

)

1,167

(1,969

)

Loss on early extinguishment of debt

2,362

Gain on sale of business

(8,864

)

(8,864

)

Interest expense, net of interest income

30,072

26,256

50,704

51,273

Provision for income taxes

42,702

46,886

68,378

64,352

Adjusted EBITDA

$

287,506

$

309,070

$

502,644

$

489,329

Adjusted EBITDA Margin

20.6

%

22.8

%

18.6

%

19.4

%

This press release includes a discussion of net income and earnings per share adjusted for the loss on early extinguishment of debt, gain on sale of business and the impacts of tax-related valuation allowances and other items as identified in the reconciliations provided below. The Company believes that discussion of these additional non-GAAP measures provides investors with meaningful comparisons of current results to prior periods’ results by excluding items that the Company does not believe reflect its fundamental business performance. The following shows the difference between net income and adjusted net income, and the difference between earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Adjusted net income

Net income

$

115,766

$

148,157

$

188,167

$

193,471

Loss on early extinguishment of debt

2,362

Gain on sale of business

(8,864

)

(8,864

)

Tax-related valuation allowances and other*

(6,209

)

(653

)

(6,095

)

Adjusted net income

$

115,766

$

133,084

$

189,876

$

178,512

Adjusted earnings per share

Earnings per share

$

2.13

$

2.71

$

3.46

$

3.54

Loss on early extinguishment of debt

0.04

Gain on sale of business

(0.16

)

(0.16

)

Tax-related valuation allowances and other*

(0.11

)

(0.01

)

(0.11

)

Adjusted earnings per share

$

2.13

$

2.44

$

3.49

$

3.27

* Other amounts include ($0.7) million or ($0.01) per share of tax impacts from the loss on early extinguishment of debt for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Adjusted Free Cash Flow Reconciliation

Clean Harbors reports adjusted free cash flow, which it considers to be a measurement of liquidity that provides useful information to investors about its ability to generate cash. The Company defines adjusted free cash flow as net cash from operating activities excluding cash impacts of items derived from non-operating activities, less additions to property, plant and equipment plus proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets. The Company excludes cash impacts of items derived from non-operating activities. Adjusted free cash flow should not be considered an alternative to net cash from operating activities or other measurements under GAAP. Adjusted free cash flow is not calculated identically by all companies, and therefore the Company’s measurement of adjusted free cash flow may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

An itemized reconciliation between net cash from operating activities and adjusted free cash flow is as follows for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022 (in thousands):

For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Adjusted free cash flow

Net cash from operating activities

$

207,565

$

170,599

$

235,573

$

131,970

Additions to property, plant and equipment

(122,612

)

(77,734

)

(204,298

)

(148,042

)

Proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets

1,089

1,703

2,944

3,023

Adjusted free cash flow

$

86,042

$

94,568

$

34,219

$

(13,049

)

Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Reconciliation

An itemized reconciliation between projected GAAP net income and projected Adjusted EBITDA is as follows (in millions):

For the Year Ending

December 31, 2023

Projected GAAP net income

$372

to

$408

Adjustments:

Accretion of environmental liabilities

14

to

13

Stock-based compensation

20

to

23

Depreciation and amortization

360

to

350

Loss on early extinguishment of debt

2

to

2

Interest expense, net

115

to

110

Provision for income taxes

137

to

154

Projected Adjusted EBITDA

$1,020

to

$1,060

Adjusted Free Cash Flow Guidance Reconciliation

An itemized reconciliation between projected net cash from operating activities and projected adjusted free cash flow is as follows (in millions):

For the Year Ending

December 31, 2023

Projected net cash from operating activities

$705

to

$765

Additions to property, plant and equipment

(410)

to

(430)

Proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets

10

to

10

Projected adjusted free cash flow

$305

to

$345

Conference Call Information

Clean Harbors will conduct a conference call for investors today at 9:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss the information contained in this press release. During the call, management will discuss Clean Harbors’ financial results, business outlook and growth strategy. Investors who wish to listen to the webcast and view the accompanying slides should visit the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.cleanharbors.com. The live call also can be accessed by dialing 877.709.8155 or 201.689.8881 prior to the start time. If you are unable to listen to the live conference call, the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website.

About Clean Harbors

Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) is North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services. The Company serves a diverse customer base, including a majority of Fortune 500 companies. Its customer base spans a number of industries, including chemical, manufacturing and refining, as well as numerous government agencies. These customers rely on Clean Harbors to deliver a broad range of services such as end-to-end hazardous waste management, emergency spill response, industrial cleaning and maintenance, and recycling services. Through its Safety-Kleen subsidiary, Clean Harbors also is North America’s largest re-refiner and recycler of used oil and a leading provider of parts washers and environmental services to commercial, industrial and automotive customers. Founded in 1980 and based in Massachusetts, Clean Harbors operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India. For more information, visit www.cleanharbors.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Any statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “plans to,” “seeks,” “should,” “estimates,” “projects,” “may,” “likely,” or similar expressions. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about future financial and operating results, and other statements that are not historical facts. Such statements are based upon the beliefs and expectations of Clean Harbors’ management as of this date only and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, without limitation, those items identified as “Risk Factors” in Clean Harbors’ most recently filed Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Therefore, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Clean Harbors undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements other than through its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which may be viewed in the “Investors” section of Clean Harbors’ website at www.cleanharbors.com.

CLEAN HARBORS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Revenues

$

1,397,900

$

1,356,312

$

2,705,287

$

2,525,421

Cost of revenues: (exclusive of items shown separately below)

947,512

898,469

1,879,026

1,741,858

Selling, general and administrative expenses

167,382

155,608

334,135

306,781

Accretion of environmental liabilities

3,486

3,197

6,893

6,353

Depreciation and amortization

89,697

87,868

174,455

172,166

Income from operations

189,823

211,170

310,778

298,263

Other (expense) income, net

(1,283

)

1,265

(1,167

)

1,969

Loss on early extinguishment of debt

(2,362

)

Gain on sale of business

8,864

8,864

Interest expense, net

(30,072

)

(26,256

)

(50,704

)

(51,273

)

Income before provision for income taxes

158,468

195,043

256,545

257,823

Provision for income taxes

42,702

46,886

68,378

64,352

Net income

$

115,766

$

148,157

$

188,167

$

193,471

Earnings per share:

Basic

$

2.14

$

2.73

$

3.48

$

3.56

Diluted

$

2.13

$

2.71

$

3.46

$

3.54

Shares used to compute earnings per share – Basic

54,092

54,318

54,084

54,362

Shares used to compute earnings per share – Diluted

54,448

54,597

54,422

54,639

CLEAN HARBORS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

June 30, 2023

December 31, 2022

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

238,776

$

492,603

Short-term marketable securities

87,346

62,033

Accounts receivable, net

981,233

964,603

Unbilled accounts receivable

122,679

107,010

Inventories and supplies

325,882

324,994

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

92,559

82,518

Total current assets

1,848,475

2,033,761

Property, plant and equipment, net

2,082,693

1,980,302

Other assets:

Operating lease right-of-use assets

181,243

166,181

Goodwill

1,288,291

1,246,878

Permits and other intangibles, net

626,320

620,782

Other

74,315

81,803

Total other assets

2,170,169

2,115,644

Total assets

$

6,101,337

$

6,129,707

Current liabilities:

Current portion of long-term debt

$

10,000

$

10,000

Accounts payable

374,438

446,629

Deferred revenue

105,327

94,094

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

348,857

396,716

Current portion of closure, post-closure and remedial liabilities

21,802

23,123

Current portion of operating lease liabilities

53,991

49,532

Total current liabilities

914,415

1,020,094

Other liabilities:

Closure and post-closure liabilities, less current portion

108,522

105,596

Remedial liabilities, less current portion

102,560

106,372

Long-term debt, less current portion

2,294,306

2,414,828

Operating lease liabilities, less current portion

129,058

119,259

Deferred tax liabilities

346,328

350,389

Other long-term liabilities

96,262

90,847

Total other liabilities

3,077,036

3,187,291

Total stockholders’ equity, net

2,109,886

1,922,322

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$

6,101,337

$

6,129,707

CLEAN HARBORS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)

For the Six Months Ended

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$

188,167

$

193,471

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

174,455

172,166

Allowance for doubtful accounts

1,209

6,927

Amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discount

2,718

3,135

Accretion of environmental liabilities

6,893

6,353

Changes in environmental liability estimates

387

1,232

Deferred income taxes

(356

)

2,226

Other expense (income), net

1,167

(1,969

)

Stock-based compensation

10,518

12,547

Loss on early extinguishment of debt

2,362

Gain on sale of business

(8,864

)

Environmental expenditures

(16,323

)

(7,028

)

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:

Accounts receivable and unbilled accounts receivable

(5,659

)

(263,584

)

Inventories and supplies

(1,111

)

(23,888

)

Other current and non-current assets

(22,749

)

(25,504

)

Accounts payable

(78,139

)

45,748

Other current and long-term liabilities

(27,966

)

19,002

Net cash from operating activities

235,573

131,970

Cash flows used in investing activities:

Additions to property, plant and equipment

(204,298

)

(148,042

)

Proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets

2,944

3,023

Acquisitions, net of cash acquired

(120,636

)

(68,766

)

Proceeds from sale of business, net of transaction costs

17,486

Additions to intangible assets including costs to obtain or renew permits

(1,114

)

(836

)

Purchases of available-for-sale securities

(74,451

)

(23,182

)

Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale securities

50,290

32,835

Net cash used in investing activities

(347,265

)

(187,482

)

Cash flows used in financing activities:

Change in uncashed checks

2,392

475

Tax payments related to withholdings on vested restricted stock

(4,335

)

(2,571

)

Repurchases of common stock

(8,001

)

(33,694

)

Deferred financing costs paid

(6,346

)

(321

)

Payments on finance leases

(7,588

)

(6,552

)

Principal payments on debt

(618,975

)

(8,768

)

Proceeds from issuance of debt

500,000

Borrowing from revolving credit facility

114,000

Payment on revolving credit facility

(114,000

)

Net cash used in financing activities

(142,853

)

(51,431

)

Effect of exchange rate change on cash

718

(1,001

)

Decrease in cash and cash equivalents

(253,827

)

(107,944

)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

492,603

452,575

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$

238,776

$

344,631

Supplemental information:

Cash payments for interest and income taxes:

Interest paid

$

49,257

$

48,104

Income taxes paid, net of refunds

92,494

29,307

Non-cash investing activities:

Property, plant and equipment accrued

26,427

21,156

Remedial liability assumed in acquisition of property, plant and equipment

13,073

ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities

38,474

20,686

ROU assets obtained in exchange for finance lease liabilities

13,992

7,646

Supplemental Segment Data (in thousands)

For the Three Months Ended

Revenue

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Third-Party Revenues

Intersegment Revenues (Expenses), net

Direct Revenues

Third-Party Revenues

Intersegment Revenues (Expenses), net

Direct Revenues

Environmental Services

$

1,161,482

$

10,554

$

1,172,036

$

1,084,506

$

6,237

$

1,090,743

Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions

236,302

(10,554

)

225,748

271,727

(6,237

)

265,490

Corporate Items

116

116

79

79

Total

$

1,397,900

$

$

1,397,900

$

1,356,312

$

$

1,356,312

For the Six Months Ended

Revenue

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Third-Party Revenues

Intersegment Revenues (Expenses), net

Direct Revenues

Third-Party Revenues

Intersegment Revenues (Expenses), net

Direct Revenues

Environmental Services

$

2,222,464

$

20,313

$

2,242,777

$

2,025,304

$

12,884

$

2,038,188

Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions

482,600

(20,313

)

462,287

499,966

(12,884

)

487,082

Corporate Items

223

223

151

151

Total

$

2,705,287

$

$

2,705,287

$

2,525,421

$

$

2,525,421

For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended

Adjusted EBITDA

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

Environmental Services

$

305,622

$

269,341

$

533,967

$

452,943

Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions

53,415

97,010

94,878

148,887

Corporate Items

(71,531

)

(57,281

)

(126,201

)

(112,501

)

Total

$

287,506

$

309,070

$

502,644

$

489,329

Contacts

Eric J. Dugas

EVP and Chief Financial Officer

Clean Harbors, Inc.

781.792.5100

InvestorRelations@cleanharbors.com

Jim Buckley

SVP Investor Relations

Clean Harbors, Inc.

781.792.5100

Buckley.James@cleanharbors.com

Read full story here

#FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM