Yahoo Finance Clean Harbors (CLH) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Miss
Clean Harbors, Inc. CLH reported mixed fourth-quarter 2023 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate while revenues missed the mark.
CLH’s earnings per share of $1.82 (excluding 1 cent from non-recurring items) surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8.3% and grew 26.4% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $1.3 billion missed the consensus estimate by 1.1% but grew 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.
Clean Harbors, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Clean Harbors, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Clean Harbors, Inc. Quote
Segmental Revenues
Environmental Services’ revenues of $1.1 billion grew 7.2% year over year, surpassing our estimate of $1.1 billion. The uptick was backed by service growth, increased disposal volumes, solid pricing, and the addition of Thompson Industrial.
Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions’ revenues of $215.8 million declined 6.6% year over year, missing our estimate of $227.5 million mainly due to weakness in base oil and blended pricing.
Profitability Performance
Adjusted EBITDA of $254.9 million increased 13.7% year over year and missed our estimate of $256.9 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin increased 150 basis points (bps) year over year to 19%.
Segment-wise, ES adjusted EBITDA was $278.7 million, up 16.4% year over year. SKSS adjusted EBITDA was $46.85 million, down 13.7% year over year.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
Clean Harbors exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $444.7 million compared with $336 million at the end of the prior quarter.
Inventories and supplies were $327.5 million compared with $311.5 million in the prior quarter.
Long-term debt was $2.3 billion, unchanged from the prior quarter.
CLH generated $278.9 million in net cash from operating activities in the reported quarter. The capital expenditure, net of disposals, was $110.4 million. The adjusted free cash flow was $173 million.
Guidance
For 2024, adjusted EBITDA is anticipated between $1.05 billion and $1.11 billion. The adjusted free cash flow for the current year is expected between $340 million and $400 million.
CapEx is projected to be $400-$430 million.
Currently, Clean Harbors carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Earnings Snapshot of Some Business Services Stocks
Fiserv, Inc. FI reported mixed fourth-quarter 2023 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues missed the mark.
FI’s EPS of $2.19 (excluding 40 cents from non-recurring items) beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.9% and increased 14.7% year over year. Adjusted revenues of $4.64 billion missed the consensus estimate by 1.1%. Organic revenue growth was 12%, driven by growth in the Acceptance and Payments segment.
Equifax Inc. EFX reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 results, wherein earnings and revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
EFX reported $1.81 in adjusted EPS (excluding 75 cents from non-recurring items), surpassing the consensus estimate by 4% and increasing 19.1% from the year-ago figure. Total revenues of $1.33 billion beat the consensus estimate by 1.1% and increased 10.7% from the year-ago figure.
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