Waste Management Announces Projected Earnings 2895

Houston — Waste Management Inc. says it expects to meet Wall Street’s earnings forecasts for the year but not without difficulties, says Chief Executive A. Maurice Myers. Analysts say the company should earn $1.36 per share this year, up from $1.20, before special items, in 2000. Myers says the company’s debt once was at $11.8 billion but should be down to about $7.8 billion by the end of 2001. Solid free cashflow is expected to be about $1 billion this year, about the same level as 2000. The company is planning capital expenditures of about $1.4 billion this year, up from $1.3 billion in 2000. The company closed at $28 per share Friday, up 20 cents.