Casella Posts $28.6 Million Revenue Growth in Q1 2023

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), the Vermont-based solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2023 today.

According to the press release and today’s earnings call, Casella is reporting a revenue increase of 12.2 percent from the same time frame in 2022. Revenues were $262.6 million, up from $234 million last year.

Casella mentioned several factors for the increase in revenue from the same period in 2022. Some of those factors include positive collection and disposal pricing, higher SRA and solid waste fuel cost recovery fees and the roll-over impact from acquisitions closed in 2022.

CEO John Casella mentioned that the results reported from the press release shows that Casella is in a good position to have a favorable 2023.

"I am very pleased with the strong start to the year led by the performance of our solid waste operations, where our operating initiatives and pricing programs helped to expand Adjusted EBITDA margins by over 220 basis points year-over-year for this line-of-business," he said. "The level of execution in the first quarter reflects the continued focus and agility of our team to outpace cost inflation. Further, we have not experienced meaningful indications of an economic slowdown in our business as solid waste volumes were positive in the quarter and other key operating metrics are stable."

Adjusted EBITDA was $50.7 million for the quarter, which is up from $46.7 million, or 11.2 percent, from the same period in 2022. Prior to the earnings announcements, Casella announced it acquired $525 million in GFL assets.

"Earlier this week, we announced the signing of an agreement to purchase GFL Environmental Inc.'s solid waste operations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware," Casella said. "We are very excited about this opportunity to expand our operating footprint into this adjacent geography, and we view this acquisition as a great platform for future organic and tuck-in growth. In addition, we continue to execute against our existing, robust acquisition pipeline across the Northeast, as evidenced by another acquisition we recently closed in early April 2023."

Casella is currently in the process of installing new recycling equipment and technology at its Boston MRF, which is slated to be operation mid-year. The Boston MRF was shut down during the quarter while a full technology upgrade was installed.

Q1 2023 Highlights:

Revenue: $262.6 million 
Operating Income: $10.3 million
Net Income: $3.5 million
Adjusted Net Income: $5.3 million
Adjusted EBITDA: $50.7 million