Clean Harbors Announces Second-Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) reported strong Q2 2021 results, with revenues soaring 30% to $926.5 million and net income reaching $67.1 million ($1.22 per share). The income from operations increased by 83%, driven by high-value waste streams and strong performance in the Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions segment. Adjusted EBITDA rose 36% to $187.8 million, marking the highest second-quarter figures in the company's history. Clean Harbors also plans to expand its incineration capacity with a new facility in Nebraska and has raised its 2021 financial guidance, expecting Adjusted EBITDA between $620 million to $650 million.

Positive

• Revenues increased 30% to $926.5 million.
• Net income grew to $67.1 million ($1.22 per share).
• Adjusted EBITDA rose 36% to $187.8 million.
• Highest second-quarter Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow in company history.
• Expansion plans for a 70,000-ton hazardous waste incinerator in Nebraska.
• Raised 2021 guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to $620-$650 million.

Negative

• Government assistance contributions decreased from $23.4 million in Q2 2020 to $5.2 million in Q2 2021.

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, 2021.

“Our second-quarter financial results far exceeded our guidance, as we benefitted from a steady flow of high-value waste streams into our disposal network and a strong performance within our Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions business,” said Alan S. McKim, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “These factors, coupled with a rebound in demand for many of our service offerings, drove substantial revenue growth and the highest second-quarter Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted free cash flow in the Company’s history. Positive underlying market trends helped generate growth across all key lines of business.”

Second-Quarter 2021 Results
Revenues increased 30% to $926.5 million from $710.0 million in the same period of 2020. Income from operations grew 83% to $110.0 million from $60.2 million in the second quarter of 2020.

Net income was $67.1 million, or $1.22 per diluted share. This compares with net income of $29.0 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, for the same period in 2020. Adjusted for certain items in both periods, adjusted net income was $65.4 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2021, compared with adjusted net income of $28.9 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in the same period of 2020. (See reconciliation tables below)

Adjusted EBITDA (see description below) increased 36% to $187.8 million from $138.3 million in the same period of 2020. Benefits from Canadian and U.S. government assistance programs accounted for $5.2 million of contributions in the second quarter of 2021 compared with $23.4 million in the same period of 2020.

Q2 2021 Review
“Within our Environmental Services segment, revenues increased 18% from a year ago and 11% from Q1, fueled by growth in disposal and recycling volumes and a surge in Industrial Services activity,” McKim said. “Our incineration network continued to see strong demand, particularly for high-value waste streams, leading to utilization of 87% and a 5% increase in the average price per pound from a year ago. Our landfill business rebounded after several challenging quarters due to the pandemic, as volumes grew 13% and the average price increased 10%. Our Safety-Kleen Environmental branches continued their steady recovery, with quarterly parts washer services reaching 240,000 for the first time since the pandemic began. We also saw a meaningful contribution from our Industrial Services business with more than 50% growth driven by a backlog of deferred maintenance by customers during the past year.”

“Our Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions (SKSS) segment delivered extraordinary growth and profitability in the quarter, as our new segment continues to benefit from the combination of our waste oil collection with our SK Oil business. The supply shortages for base and blended oil, along with the impacts of IMO 2020, created a highly favorable pricing environment,” McKim said. “These market conditions led to the widening spread in our used oil market. Segment revenue was up 32% from the first quarter and more than doubled from a year ago, when the pandemic temporarily shut down more than half of our re-refining plants. Adjusted EBITDA in the segment doubled from Q1 and was up more than seven-fold from a year ago. Waste oil collections grew to 57 million gallons from 47 million in the first quarter and from 43 million a year ago.”

In late June, Clean Harbors announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR) to acquire certain assets related to Vertex’s used motor oil collection and re-refinery business in an all-cash transaction for $140 million, subject to working capital and other adjustments. The acquisition is now expected to close toward the end of the current quarter of 2021 or shortly thereafter, subject to approval by U.S. regulators and Vertex shareholders, and other customary closing conditions.

Company Announces Planned Expansion of Incineration Network Capacity
Clean Harbors plans to construct a 70,000-ton hazardous waste incinerator at the Company’s plant in Kimball, Nebraska, which specializes in the destruction of hazardous and non-hazardous materials. The advanced new kiln will more than double annual incineration capacity at the 600-acre site to nearly 130,000 tons. Costing approximately $180 million to permit and construct over a four-year time frame, the new incinerator will add over 100 full-time workers upon completion.

“Clean Harbors is proud to make this investment in Nebraska to provide much needed environmental service capabilities to the Western U.S.,” McKim said. “We are excited to build upon our longtime relationship with the Kimball community, and confident these new jobs and increased business activity will benefit the economy of the region and the entire state.”

The Kimball expansion will be designed as North America’s most technologically advanced hazardous waste incinerator, equipped with world-class air emissions control technology that exceeds the Federal Clean Air Act’s most stringent air emissions standards. The plant will be only the second U.S. commercial hazardous waste incinerator to come online in the past 25 years, along with Clean Harbors El Dorado incinerator that opened in early 2017.

“While there is a lengthy permitting process and complex construction requirements, we are targeting having this facility operational in late 2024 and accepting waste in the first half of 2025,” McKim said. “We are confident that incineration demand – driven by the ongoing U.S. chemical and manufacturing expansion, and the continuing reduction of captive incinerators – will enable our additional capacity to be readily absorbed when it opens.”

Business Outlook and Financial Guidance
“We enter the second half of 2021 with considerable momentum across all our key markets, backed by a promising North American economic environment. We expect a record-setting financial year for the Company,” McKim concluded. “Within our Environmental Services segment, we see encouraging signs for steady waste volumes, project work and rising demand for our broad suite of service offerings. With the planned acquisition of HydroChemPSC, we will significantly bolster our capabilities within Industrial Services and Field Services while driving more volumes into our network. Within our SKSS segment, we see our used oil to base oil pricing spread extending until later in the year, and we will continue to see the benefits of separating out this segment. We will continue to capitalize on the opportunities afforded by these current market conditions, and look forward to adding the Vertex facilities, personnel and waste oil collection assets to this segment. Overall, we continue to maintain a favorable outlook in both of our segments for the remainder of the year and into 2022.”

Based on its second-quarter financial performance and current market conditions, Clean Harbors is raising its 2021 guidance. For the year, the Company currently expects:

• Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $620 million to $650 million, based on anticipated GAAP net income in the range of $159 million to $193 million; and
• Adjusted free cash flow in the range of $285 million to $315 million, based on anticipated net cash from operating activities in the range of $475 million to $525 million.

For the third quarter of 2021, Clean Harbors expects Adjusted EBITDA to be at a level similar to or slightly above the third quarter of 2020, when the Company recognized $13.3 million from government assistance programs.

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, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands, except percentages):

	For the Three Months Ended								For the Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020				June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020
Net income	$	67,075			$	29,023			$	88,811			$	40,595
Accretion of environmental liabilities		2,873				2,766				5,826				5,327
Stock-based compensation		3,305				2,786				6,785				6,077
Depreciation and amortization		71,592				72,494				143,755				147,027
Other expense, net		1,480				500				2,708				2,865
Loss on sale of businesses		—				184				—				3,258
Interest expense, net of interest income		18,051				18,654				35,969				37,441
Provision for income taxes		23,395				11,859				33,368				21,557
Adjusted EBITDA	$	187,771			$	138,266			$	317,222			$	264,147
Adjusted EBITDA Margin		20.3	%			19.5	%			18.3	%			16.8	%

This press release includes a discussion of net income and earnings per share adjusted for the loss on sale of businesses and the impacts of tax-related valuation allowances 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, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	For the Three Months Ended								For the Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020				June 30, 2021			June 30, 2020
Adjusted net income
Net income	$	67,075			$	29,023			$	88,811		$	40,595
Loss on sale of businesses		—				184				—			3,258
Tax-related valuation allowances		(1,641	)			(305	)			7			626
Adjusted net income	$	65,434			$	28,902			$	88,818		$	44,479
Adjusted earnings per share
Earnings per share	$	1.22			$	0.52			$	1.62		$	0.73
Loss on sale of businesses		—				—				—			0.06
Tax-related valuation allowances		(0.03	)			—				—			0.01
Adjusted earnings per share	$	1.19			$	0.52			$	1.62		$	0.80

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 and in 2020 have also excluded cash paid in connection with the purchase of its corporate headquarters and certain capital improvements to the site as these expenditures are considered one-time in nature. 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, 2021 and 2020 (in thousands):

	For the Three Months Ended								For the Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020				June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020
Adjusted free cash flow
Net cash from operating activities	$	162,432			$	139,805			$	265,432			$	173,486
Additions to property, plant and equipment		(50,075	)			(42,954	)			(91,988	)			(125,721	)
Purchase and capital improvements of corporate HQ		—				345				—				21,080
Proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets		2,275				951				3,479				3,101
Adjusted free cash flow	$	114,632			$	98,147			$	176,923			$	71,946

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, 2021
Projected GAAP net income	$	159		to	$	193
Adjustments:
Accretion of environmental liabilities		12		to		11
Stock-based compensation		16		to		18
Depreciation and amortization		290		to		280
Other expense, net		3		to		3
Interest expense, net		73		to		72
Provision for income taxes		67		to		73
Projected Adjusted EBITDA	$	620		to	$	650

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, 2021
Projected net cash from operating activities	$	475			to	$	525
Additions to property, plant and equipment		(205	)		to		(225	)
Proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets		15			to		15
Projected adjusted free cash flow	$	285			to	$	315

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 201.689.8881 or 877.709.8155 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, 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.

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, the definitive agreement to acquire HydroChemPSC 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, the risks and uncertainties surrounding the proposed Clean Harbors and HydroChemPSC transaction, and 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, 2021				June 30, 2020				June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020
Revenues	$	926,458			$	710,000			$	1,734,606			$	1,568,563
Cost of revenues (exclusive of items shown separately below)		617,886				470,681				1,178,422				1,077,347
Selling, general and administrative expenses		124,106				103,839				245,747				233,146
Accretion of environmental liabilities		2,873				2,766				5,826				5,327
Depreciation and amortization		71,592				72,494				143,755				147,027
Income from operations		110,001				60,220				160,856				105,716
Other expense, net		(1,480	)			(500	)			(2,708	)			(2,865	)
Loss on sale of businesses		—				(184	)			—				(3,258	)
Interest expense, net		(18,051	)			(18,654	)			(35,969	)			(37,441	)
Income before provision for income taxes		90,470				40,882				122,179				62,152
Provision for income taxes		23,395				11,859				33,368				21,557
Net income	$	67,075			$	29,023			$	88,811			$	40,595
Earnings per share:
Basic	$	1.23			$	0.52			$	1.63			$	0.73
Diluted	$	1.22			$	0.52			$	1.62			$	0.73
Shares used to compute earnings per share — Basic		54,529				55,590				54,625				55,673
Shares used to compute earnings per share — Diluted		54,854				55,748				54,945				55,882

CLEAN HARBORS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands)
	June 30, 2021			December 31, 2020
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	595,574		$	519,101
Short-term marketable securities		70,683			51,857
Accounts receivable, net		659,364			611,534
Unbilled accounts receivable		59,446			55,681
Inventories and supplies		215,725			220,498
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		76,524			67,051
Total current assets		1,677,316			1,525,722
Property, plant and equipment, net		1,531,289			1,525,298
Other assets:
Operating lease right-of-use assets		135,363			150,341
Goodwill		544,639			527,023
Permits and other intangibles, net		374,230			386,620
Other		13,042			16,516
Total other assets		1,067,274			1,080,500
Total assets	$	4,275,879		$	4,131,520
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt	$	7,535		$	7,535
Accounts payable		249,206			195,878
Deferred revenue		83,733			74,066
Accrued expenses		311,656			295,823
Current portion of closure, post-closure and remedial liabilities		23,865			26,093
Current portion of operating lease liabilities		35,074			36,750
Total current liabilities		711,069			636,145
Other liabilities:
Closure and post-closure liabilities, less current portion		83,742			74,023
Remedial liabilities, less current portion		98,341			102,623
Long-term debt, less current portion		1,547,398			1,549,641
Operating lease liabilities, less current portion		101,377			114,258
Deferred tax liabilities		228,718			230,097
Other long-term liabilities		95,647			83,182
Total other liabilities		2,155,223			2,153,824
Total stockholders’ equity, net		1,409,587			1,341,551
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	4,275,879		$	4,131,520

 

CLEAN HARBORS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands)
	For the Six Months Ended
	June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	88,811			$	40,595
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		143,755				147,027
Allowance for doubtful accounts		2,109				9,006
Amortization of deferred financing costs and debt discount		1,806				1,787
Accretion of environmental liabilities		5,826				5,327
Changes in environmental liability estimates		445				5,607
Deferred income taxes		1,912				—
Other expense, net		2,708				2,865
Stock-based compensation		6,785				6,077
Loss on sale of businesses		—				3,258
Environmental expenditures		(6,594	)			(6,104	)
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions:
Accounts receivable and unbilled accounts receivable		(51,285	)			67,540
Inventories and supplies		765				(9,024	)
Other current and non-current assets		(12,043	)			(25,840	)
Accounts payable		49,880				(82,134	)
Other current and long-term liabilities		30,552				7,499
Net cash from operating activities		265,432				173,486
Cash flows used in investing activities:
Additions to property, plant and equipment		(91,988	)			(125,721	)
Proceeds from sale and disposal of fixed assets		3,479				3,101
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired		(22,918	)			(8,877	)
Proceeds from sale of businesses, net of transactional costs		—				7,753
Additions to intangible assets including costs to obtain or renew permits		(1,750	)			(1,242	)
Proceeds from sale of available-for-sale securities		70,526				28,851
Purchases of available-for-sale securities		(89,689	)			(45,550	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(132,340	)			(141,685	)
Cash flows (used in) from financing activities:
Change in uncashed checks		(2,895	)			(1,689	)
Tax payments related to withholdings on vested restricted stock		(4,739	)			(3,395	)
Repurchases of common stock		(45,409	)			(17,341	)
Deferred financing costs paid		(146	)			—
Payments on finance leases		(3,577	)			(1,790	)
Principal payments on debt		(3,768	)			(3,768	)
Borrowing from revolving credit facility		—				150,000
Payment on revolving credit facility		—				(75,000	)
Net cash (used in) from financing activities		(60,534	)			47,017
Effect of exchange rate change on cash		3,915				(3,443	)
Increase in cash and cash equivalents		76,473				75,375
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period		519,101				371,991
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	$	595,574			$	447,366
Supplemental information:
Cash payments for interest and income taxes:
Interest paid	$	34,164			$	38,327
Income taxes paid, net of refunds		32,519				1,478
Non-cash investing activities:
Property, plant and equipment accrued		8,807				7,421
ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities		5,774				16,216
ROU assets obtained in exchange for finance lease liabilities		18,704				16,452

Supplemental Segment Data (in thousands)
	For the Three Months Ended
Revenue	June 30, 2021												June 30, 2020
	Third Party Revenues				Intersegment Revenues (Expense), net				Direct Revenues				Third Party Revenues				Intersegment Revenues (Expense), net				Direct Revenues
Environmental Services	$	723,147			$	950			$	724,097			$	612,720			$	(126	)		$	612,594
Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions		203,232				(950	)			202,282				97,224				126				97,350
Corporate Items		79				—				79				56				—				56
Total	$	926,458			$	—			$	926,458			$	710,000			$	—			$	710,000
	For the Six Months Ended
Revenue	June 30, 2021												June 30, 2020
	Third Party Revenues				Intersegment Revenues (Expense), net				Direct Revenues				Third Party Revenues				Intersegment Revenues (Expense), net				Direct Revenues
Environmental Services	$	1,376,025			$	2,674			$	1,378,699			$	1,317,756			$	30			$	1,317,786
Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions		358,423				(2,674	)			355,749				250,661				(30	)			250,631
Corporate Items		158				—				158				146				—				146
Total	$	1,734,606			$	—			$	1,734,606			$	1,568,563			$	—			$	1,568,563
	For the Three Months Ended												For the Six Months Ended
Adjusted EBITDA	June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020								June 30, 2021				June 30, 2020
Environmental Services	$	176,041			$					176,241			$	316,295			$					322,099
Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions		63,314								8,431				94,946								32,635
Corporate Items		(51,584	)							(46,406	)			(94,019	)							(90,587	)
Total	$	187,771			$					138,266			$	317,222			$					264,147

 

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FAQ

What were Clean Harbors' Q2 2021 financial results?

Clean Harbors reported Q2 2021 revenues of $926.5 million, up 30% year-over-year, with net income of $67.1 million ($1.22 per share).

How much did Clean Harbors raise its 2021 financial guidance?

Clean Harbors raised its 2021 guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to between $620 million to $650 million.

What is the significance of Clean Harbors' new incinerator in Nebraska?

The new incinerator will double Clean Harbors' annual capacity at the site to nearly 130,000 tons, creating over 100 full-time jobs.

What factors contributed to Clean Harbors' substantial revenue growth in Q2 2021?

The growth was driven by increased disposal and recycling volumes, a surge in industrial services, and strong demand for high-value waste streams.

How did government assistance affect Clean Harbors' earnings in Q2 2021?

Government assistance contributions fell significantly from $23.4 million in Q2 2020 to $5.2 million in Q2 2021.