Clean Harbors Announces Record Second-Quarter 2022 Financial Results

NORWELL, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Clean Harbors, Inc. (NYSE: CLH), the leading provider of environmental and industrial services throughout North America, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022.

“The combination of robust demand, positive market dynamics and crisp execution of our growth strategy resulted in record quarterly financial results,” said Alan S. McKim, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As the leading environmental services and sustainability solutions provider for more than 300,000 customers, our suite of environmentally focused services was highly sought after in the quarter, as were the premium eco-friendly products generated by our re-refinery business. We have experienced an acceleration of demand for our hazardous waste disposal and recycling network to all-time highs. HydroChemPSC (HPC), which we acquired in late 2021, is proving to be a valuable addition. Against a backdrop of high inflation and supply chain challenges, we executed exceptionally well through effective pricing, cost reduction programs, process improvements and best-in-class industry performance. Our results this quarter illustrate the powerful combination of our entire portfolio working together and leveraging the strengths of each business. Our safety results were the best in the Company’s history with a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) through June 30 of 0.82 – well ahead of our goal of less than 1.0 for the year.”

Second-Quarter Results

Revenues increased 46% to $1.36 billion from $926.5 million in the same period of 2021. Income from operations grew 92% to $211.2 million from $110.0 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Net income was $148.2 million, or $2.71 per diluted share. This compared with net income of $67.1 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, for the same period in 2021. Adjusted for certain items in both periods, adjusted net income was $133.1 million, or $2.44 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022, compared with adjusted net income of $65.4 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, for the same period of 2021. (See reconciliation tables below).

Adjusted EBITDA (see description below) increased 65% to $309.1 million from $187.8 million in the same period of 2021.

Q2 2022 Segment Review

“Environmental Services (ES) revenues increased 51% year-over-year, and Adjusted EBITDA in the segment rose 53%. These results were driven by the addition of HPC, volume growth of high-value waste in our disposal and recycling facilities, pricing initiatives and strong demand across all our service businesses,” McKim said. “Utilization of our incinerator network reached 90% in the quarter, up from 87% a year ago. Average incineration pricing was up a healthy 18% from a year ago, representing a balance of pricing initiatives and higher-value waste streams. Landfill volumes in the quarter increased by 36% driven by a noticeable pickup in remediation and waste projects. Our Industrial Services business, now branded as HPC Industrial, delivered profitable growth in the quarter, as we capitalized on a robust and extensive spring turnaround season. Field Services achieved 35% growth from a year ago through a steady stream of emergency response projects and the addition of HPC’s utilities business. Safety-Kleen Environmental grew 21% with uniform strength across its core service offerings. EBITDA margins in this segment improved 40 basis points from a year ago and are up more than 500 basis points from the first quarter. Overall, an outstanding quarter for this entire segment.

“Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions (SKSS) revenues grew 31% in Q2, and Adjusted EBITDA climbed 53% from a year ago,” McKim said. “Demand for our base oil was extremely high throughout the quarter given industry dynamics and global supply disruptions. Two substantive base oil price increases occurred mid-quarter, helping drive greater revenue and profitability. Our collections team also did a remarkable job actively managing the front end of our re-refining spread in both collection volumes and costs. In addition, our creation of the SKSS segment and better strategic management of this business is enabling more success and a path to more consistent profitability.”

Business Outlook and Financial Guidance

“Our business thrived in the second quarter, and we are seeing many indications that those positive demand trends will continue in the back half of the year,” McKim said. “Our unique and valuable network of disposal and recycling assets remains in high demand as we are benefiting from the resurgence in U.S. manufacturing, our 3M partnership, global reshoring to the U.S. and a healthy projects pipeline. On top of today’s healthy backlog, we expect future demand for our scarce disposal assets to accelerate through a variety of factors including infrastructure spending, strict enforcement of U.S. environmental regulations, captive incinerator closings and reshoring of multiple industries. With that robust growth environment in mind, we are continuing to move forward with the construction of our new incinerator in Nebraska, along with near-term investments in our plants to drive throughput across our network and reinforce our market leadership. Within our service businesses, we are hiring as rapidly as possible to meet customer needs and facilitate additional growth, while also lowering third-party costs.

“Within SKSS, the business is being well-managed at both ends of our re-refining spread,” McKim said. “On the back end, we are benefiting from a strong pricing environment that shows no sign of slowing. The value of our base oil also continues to rise not just due to industry conditions but the recognition of the quality, scarcity and reliability of our re-refined products. In conjunction with that shifting market view and demand for truly sustainable product alternatives, we recently launched our KLEEN+™ brand to fully capture the value of our base oil. On the front end of our re-refining spread, we are continuing to benefit from the long-term market impact of IMO 2020, along with system enhancements and greater transportation efficiencies. We also recently purchased a re-refinery in Georgia. This location will generate additional production and will reduce our transportation costs by providing a local outlet for waste oil collected in the Southeastern U.S.

“As reflected in our revised annual guidance, we expect to realize strong operating results in both segments throughout the back half of 2022, while continuing to execute on our pricing and cost reduction strategies to drive further margin improvement, even in an inflationary environment. We anticipate delivering record top- and bottom-line results this year, along with a robust free cash flow to support our capital allocation strategy,” McKim concluded.

In the third quarter of 2022, Clean Harbors expects Adjusted EBITDA to increase approximately 50% from the prior-year period, reflecting higher profitability in both the ES and SKSS segments, as well as the addition of HPC.

Based on its first-half 2022 performance and current market conditions, Clean Harbors is raising the midpoint of its 2022 Adjusted EBITDA guidance by $175 million. For the year, the Company now expects:

• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $975 million to $1.005 billion, or a midpoint of $990 million. This range is based on anticipated GAAP net income in the range of $355 million to $390 million; and
• Adjusted free cash flow in the range of $310 million to $350 million, or a midpoint of $330 million. This range is based on anticipated net cash from operating activities in the range of $630 million to $690 million.

Non-GAAP Results

Clean Harbors reports Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure and should not be considered as 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, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands, except percentages):

This press release includes a discussion of net income and earnings per share adjusted for 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, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

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 such as taxes paid in connection with divestitures. 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, 2022 and 2021 (in thousands):

Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Reconciliation

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

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):

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, energy and manufacturing, 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.